


Forbidden Love With a Little Twist

by Star_S2002



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Death, Demon possession, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, FanFiction.Net, Fanfiction, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forbidden Love, Manga & Anime, Mild Gore, Nen (Hunter X Hunter), Original Character(s), Romance, Shadows - Freeform, posted on wattpad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-09 08:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13477269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_S2002/pseuds/Star_S2002
Summary: As far as she can remember, Maria Jayson was born with a power she could not control. Mysterious deaths occur when the darkness blacken her vision. For some reason, the Phantom Troupe are after her, especially the sinister man with a cross tattoo. He knows of her power and appears in her nightmares, making her fear of sleep. Her future looks bleak as her sanity begins to deteriorate.But a mysterious person of her past, and the same person she calls her savior, brings her faith. Faith to keep fighting for her life, as well as for her sanity. That person stops those shadows from taking over and makes her face glow red.What if that same person comes from the alleged Phantom Troupe which chases after her? The right hand man of the man who gives her nightmares? The person who always protects her from those shadows?Can they love each other even in such circumstances?And who will Feitan choose the Phantom Troupe or her?





	1. Chapter 1

A perfectly normal family.

One that fights.

One that solves problems together.

One that loves.

One thats boring.

I wanted that kind of family.

I buried myself in my poorly thin blanket as I tried to block out the yelling and the loud pounding outside my door. Tears streamed down my face, whispering false comforts to calm my stormy mind.

"Its going to be okay."

"They're going to stop soon... Daddy wouldn't kill mommy..."

"Everything will be okay by tomorrow..."

Even as a 7-year-old, I knew that this was just wishful thinking. A loud crack echoed from the door and my eyes quickly snapped close. My breath hitched and heaved every so often. No other sound came from the door and I tried to relax my thumping heart. My small fists clenched tightly to my chest, my eyes still closed shut in fear.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then I heaved a sigh of relief at the sound of footsteps; one was pounding the creaky wooden floor and another soft and dejected. I flinched when a loud slam echoed throughout the house. It shook the walls and my cracked mirror on the desk.

I smiled bitterly and finally relaxed into the comforts of my thin mattress, but my fists still clenched my blanket tightly.

_Everything will be okay by tomorrow._

-+-+-

"Maria..." A soft, melodic voice whispered softly in my ear and my shoulder was tapped softly. "Maria, it's time to wake up." I groaned and pouted. My eyes squinted, still tired, and looked at mommy. A smile lit up on my face, but it quickly disappeared as my stomach churned uncomfortably. Mommy was smiling happily, but I saw the tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. Her nose was covered by a bandage and her eye was swollen. It looked painful.

"Mommy, are you okay?" I asked, reaching out to wipe away her tears. A flash of sadness flickered in her eyes, but she hid it by laughing.

"Oh, darling. Of course, I'm fine... It's time to get up, you have some reading to do." I pouted again and she laughs at me.

My house wasn't that fancy like the other people. It only had one floor, two small bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living room. The kitchen was connected to the living room. The size of the living room was that of a normal bedroom.

I colored daddy's old newspapers with my crayons, only consisting red, blue, and yellow. But it was fine because I get to color over weird pictures. I tilted my head at the weird looking old guy with huge ears on the paper. I looked at the bold letters above, but it made my head hurt so I just colored the funny looking guy, chuckling at my new picture.

Mommy was at work; she was a waitress with a, she told me, very generous boss who gave her lots of money. It was how we were able to have a roof over our heads.

"We just received news that the newly-formed criminal group who call themselves the Phantom Troupe are at large. They have already stolen over 1 billion blah and killed the heiress of Briefs Corporation. Their last known whereabouts were in Ubec City, Liliphines. Citizens who live in or near Ubec City, please lock your doors and windows and-" My ear flinched as the television whirred loudly.

"Dang it! That stupid woman hasn't paid the cable yet!" Daddy cussed loudly and a loud smash followed soon after. I ignored daddy as I got up from the floor and walked to the kitchen to grab the dustpan and broom.

Ever since daddy stopped working a few months ago, he became really fat. Fatty fat. My nose scrunched at the big green stain staininglllll9l the shirt he wore for the past 7 days. His blood shot eyes darted to me, a scowl on his face. I looked down at my feet as I swept the broken glass w the wooden floor.

It was silent except the scraping glass against the wood. I kept feeling his glare on me even when my back turned on him.

Before I could hurry to the kitchen, I found myself on the ground. A loud ringing buzzed in my head. My head all the way down to my lower back was pulsing in pain.

Sticky

Sticky

Hehehe, everything's swirly.

Weeeeeeeee

Down the red swirly swirly.

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Drip_

Sticky red....

_Squish_

Darker than my crayon...

Squishy

Squishy

So squishy

My head hurts...

I want my mommy...

Did I fall on daddy's food? Its sticky.

Sticky...

I looked down at my hands.

Red

Red stained from my fingertips all the way up to my elbow.

My head tilts as my brows furrow in concentrated confusion.

It wasn't just my arms that were dyed red; the pinkish red water pooled on the floor around me.

What was I doing before this???

My head and eyes pulsed painfully when I tried to remember.

Remember what exactly???

An ear splitting scream broke through the pain and concentration. I looked up to see mommy. I smiled, happy to see her. She even bought groceries for this week's food!

"Ms. Jayson, is everything al-" My smile dropped once a man I've never seen before stand beside mommy. "-right...?" Both wore the same horrified expression on their face.

"M-Maria, what happened?" Mommy pointed at a pinkish pile of glob. It spread on daddy's chair and some trailed down to the red wooden floor. There were also pieces of cloth sticking on them. I pursed my lips staring at it.

"Uuuuhhhmmm..." I shrugged my shoulders. "Dunno... Daddy hit me then boom-" I showed my red-stained arms. "-red paint everywhere!"

I sat there looking back to mommy then to the pink globby pile. For a few seconds, she stood there then her pale face turned green and she ran out the door. I blinked. The stranger looked green as well, but he didn't run outside like mommy, instead he reached out his arms towards me.

"H-Hey, kid... How 'bout you come over here, okay???" I stared suspiciously at him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ms. Jay-I mean, your mommy's boss..." My eyes lit up and I quickly stood up to go towards him. He's the nice boss that's been helping mommy! As soon as my feet left the reddish water, mommy's boss immediately picked me up and ran out of the house.

I saw mommy outside talking to a yellow box in her hand.

"I don't know! I just got home to see my baby in a pool of blood...no she isn't hurt... I'm calling because someone brought a dead body into my living room and left my 7-year-old daughter beside it!...I don't where that good for nothing of a husband is! I can't believe he... Yes, yes, please hurry..." I frowned at the sight of tears streaming down mommy's cheeks. After putting the yellow box away from her ear, she took me out of the mister's arms and hugged me tightly.

For some reason, I was really tired. My head bobbed along with mommy's words of comfort as I leaned on her neck.

Loud, annoying sounds echoed in the distance, but my mind shut down before I could think about it.

When I woke up, I was lying on a soft bed inside a car...a big car with a fluffy blanket wrapped around me. The red stuff was gone and my clothes were changed. Mommy was outside talking with a lady in blue. There were lots of people outside too...flashy flashy lights as well.

"She's awake!" I jumped when both mommy's and the lady's head snapped towards me, but it was mommy who quickly got to my side.

"Mommy, why are the blue people here again?"

"Again?" I frowned at the lady's accusing tone and stuck my tongue out at her.

"They come when mommy doesn't pay those yellow papers!" Her eyes widened. "Besides, I wasn't talking to you!" Mommy shushes me and tells me that they were here for the red stuff in the living room. And they wanted me to tell them what happened.

I looked at the lady and frowned. Its not like I was angry at her; it was just that remembering hurt my head.

"Uuhhhmmm...well, daddy broke another bowl so I cleaned it up... And...and...he hit me here-" I point to my back. "-then everything poofed black! When I woke up, sticky red was everywhere." I lied about the part that everything went black because I didn't want mommy to get worried again. Nope. The lady nodded and sighed. She motioned for mommy to follow her.

"Baby, stay here okay and don't talk to strangers except those blue people." I nodded and giggled when mommy kissed me on the cheek.

Then I was alone once more.

It wasn't even a minute when a man wearing a black cap entered the vehicle.

_Don't talk to strangers except the blue people._

He was wearing a blue shirt though... Does that count?

Sure that he was one of the blue people, I smiled wide at him and chirped, "Hi!" The man smiled back as well and took off the cap hiding his face, showing his black hair and greenish-brown eyes. I wasn't sure with the color of his eyes... I've never seen them before.

"Hello, what's your name?"

"Maria. What are you blue people doing here?" His mouth twitched before smiling fully.

"Something happened in your house and we're looking into it."

I tilt my head. "What happened?" The man chuckled and I pouted. What was funny?

"That's a story for another time." He looked outside the car and I followed him, seeing mommy and the lady coming back. I looked back at him to ask why, but he was gone.

 _That's a story for another time._ That means he's coming back, right?

After talking a little bit more with mommy, the lady let us into a black and white care and dropped us into a nice looking building.

I wanted to explore, but mommy said it was time to sleep because it was very dark already. So I begrudgingly got tucked into a big bed (bigger than the bathroom!) and closed my eyes grumpily.

I didn't tell mommy about the blue man. I didn't think it was that important. I mean, it's unfair if I told her about the blue man and she didn't tell me about the blue lady.

This was fair.

Its not like the blue man is anyone important, right?

After that incident, I didn't see daddy anymore, mommy's boss visited us frequently and gave me lots of gifts, and mommy and I lived in the nice house.

Everything was fine until mommy decided I had to go to school.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why do I have to go to some dumb elementary class? I've done fine with only you and Uncle Larry..." I grumbled in my seat as I glared at mommy through the side window. She heaves a sigh, replying after when the car stops at a red light.

She turns to me with a stern glare, "Maria, staying home isn't healthy for a growing child like you. You need to make some friends your age and learn how to read and write." I groaned. "Do this for mommy, okay?" The light turned green and mommy turned her attention back to the road. I looked away. Why couldn't I stay home and play like always? Why couldn't mommy or Uncle Larry just hire someone to teach me at home? Is it really **that** important to go to school?

A few minutes later the car came to a full stop in front of a building. It was twice as big as my house and had a playground on the front lawn. My heart thumped nervously in my chest at the sight of other kids walking into school...without their mommy holding their hands. My ears perked up as mommy unbuckled her seat and I quickly unbuckled myself.

"I can go to the school by myself, mommy!" I chirped opening the door and swinging my legs to jump off the car. Mommy seemed to take it as my excitement as she waved at me from the car.

"Okay, darling! I'll pick you up at 3! Take care!" As soon as I closed the door, she sped off. Leaving me standing there alone.

My skin prickled when I turned to the building.

Well, it's now or never.

~~

"Good morning, class! Today we have a new student. Her name is Maria Jayson." Ms. Cady placed her hand on my head while I looked down at my brand new blue snickers. "Why don't you say something about yourself, Maria?" Blood rushed to myself when she asked that.

"U-Uhmm...hello, my name is Maria Jayson... This is my first time at school so please take care of me." I said quickly and bowed down. Ms. Cady chuckled and told me to sit at the very back desk by the window beside a boy with a haughty look on his face. His name was Trey, I think.

Nothing worth memorable happened that day.

I did make some friends, but no one who I could truly trust like Uncle Larry or mommy.

Somehow, whenever Ms. Cady or the other kids smile at me, their smiles were forced, plastic, fake.

Then I remembered that man's smile. Creepy could have been the definition I was looking for, but it was more of threatening.

Especially the way he looked at mommy and the lady.

Right now, it was play time so everyone was outside in the playground. While everyone else were playing tag or taking turns on the slide, I was sitting on a swing set. It had only one swing so no one could play with me here.

But it was fine. I liked the quiet. It was much better than running around with the others. Laughing aloud.

_"Please stop!" Her pleas went through deaf ears as he only laughed._

Pushing each other.

_"Can't you get any slower, woman?" He shoved her and the grocery bags fell on the concrete._

I shook my head. No, no more of that. Mommy and I are happy now. No more daddy to hurt mommy or order her around. Uncle Larry was much better, kinder, and more loving to mommy than daddy ever was.

"Huh?" I blinked at the person leaning against a pillar supporting the school. He wasn't an elementary student I was sure. He was too tall, maybe around 2? inches taller than me. I couldn't really tell because of the distance. He had the same square box (which I found out was something called a phone) by his ear.

I got off the swing set with a spring in my step.

I looked at Ms. Cady to see she was too busy stopping a fight between two siblings to notice me leaving. Hopefully.

Quickly, I walked towards the person, sneaking glances ever so often to see if Ms. Cady would notice my disappearance. The person hid behind the pillar once he saw me. Well, I thought he did.

Smiling, I peeked behind the pillar, but saw no one. I tilted my head in confusion as I stood by the pillar where I was sure the person was.

After a few seconds of wondering where he was, I saw him through the open window on Ms. Cady's desk. He wasn't looking at me, but was glaring at the bo-phone in his hand. Immediately, I ran inside and stood on the doorway with a big smile on my face.

"How'd you do that?!" I asked when he put away his phone. The glare moved to me and I froze at the blank look he gave me. My smile dropped and the curious wonder in my eyes faded into discomfort. He muttered something angrily under his breath; some words I heard were 'annoying', 'piece of...', and 'why couldn't Phinx do this?'. I took a step back when he jumped off the desk. Dark black bangs almost hid the glare fixated on me and his mouth and neck was covered by a dark red scarf.

"Who the hell is Trey Williams?" His raspy voice spat out the venom and annoyance clear by his facial features. My breath hitched at the name. Trey Williams was my seatmate. But why was this dangerous person looking for him? My eyes widened. Trey was boasting about his father completely destroying a rival company. Was it about that?

His glare sharpened at my lack of speech. I wanted to lie and deter him away from Trey, but my throat tightened each time I opened my mouth.

"I don't have the *beeping* time for this. Tell me where that brat is now." He hissed as he took a step towards my quivering form. Not trusting my words, I only shook my head. His brow arch and amusement danced in his eyes.

"You won't tell me?" I nodded. Suddenly, he was right in front of me and I gasped, the scream stuck in my throat. I tried to run, but my feet stayed rooted on the floor. With fear filled eyes, I looked up at him. I flinched when he moved his hand. My stomach churned in disgust when he chuckled darkly.

_"You're just a whore! A *beep* in the heat!" His quiet grunts and dark chuckles could be heard through the thin walls followed by repetitive skin slapping skin._

My fear dissipated at the moment. My surroundings slowly turning dark; the black shadows creeping in.

The strange person knelt before me and I finally got a good look on his face. My eyes widened. He was just a kid like me, albeit older. The scarf wrapped around his neck covered the fact that he was but a child.

I took a step forward. The dark shadows surrounded me, us... but didn't get any closer.

The amusement and curiosity danced in his eyes watching my every move. I lifted my hand up, hesitated, then touched his face. Something flickered in his eyes as I trailed my finger on his face. Mindless curiosity was what pushed me to do this.

Even though he was just a teenager (thats what mommy said when I would turn 13), why did his eyes hold so much resentment to the world?

"Why?" I tilted my head in confusion as I stared into his black orbs. His brows knitted at my question and scowled at my constant prodding of his face.

"Where is Trey Williams?" He didn't answer my question, but the venom and annoyance in his voice was gone; it was replaced by a soothing, husky tone. I put away my hand and looked towards the playground outside the window. Ms. Cady had finally took notice of my disappearance as she yells out my name.

The person sighed and stood up. "I've been here too long. I'm leaving." I didn't know why, but I didn't want him to leave. I mean, he stopped the dark shadows from taking over. I grabbed the end of his jacket and he looked over me with a raised brow.

My face heated up as I stuttered out, "Wh-What's your name...?" There was a slight pause in his movements as if debating whether to answer my question or not.

"Maria?! Where are you?!" Ms. Cady's voice rung out. My grip tightened on his jacket as I waited for his reply. He glared at my hand and I flinched when he lifts up his arm.

_"Stupid brat..." He raises his arm_ _and-_

He pats me on the head. My face flushed at the contact making me let go of the jacket.

Then he was gone.

Just like that.

I looked around the room, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Maria, what are you doing in the classroom?" Ms. Cady was breathless when she arrived.

"I wanted some water?" Ms. Cady sighed, but smiled...the fake one...and helped me get a glass of water.

The day flashed by quickly like I wanted it to. Class wasn't supposed to end until 4:30, but I told Ms. Cady that mommy was picking me up early. Since I was new, she allowed me to leave early. Mommy was by the school gate like she said she would be and she drove back to the house.

My thoughts were mainly about the boy though. Blood rushed to my face once more as I touched my head. I wonder if he was coming back tomorrow...

It was 7 pm; the usual time for all of us (Uncle Larry, mommy, and I) to watch some television together.

While we were watching 2002, the TV suddenly changed with a guy sitting behind his desk. Mommy and daddy were very attentive at the guy so I listened to it as well even though I wanted to watch 2002.

"We are sorry for cutting through. This is a broadcast that the infamous Phantom Troupe have struck once again." A picture of a building appeared on the guy's side. It was my school. Mommy gasped. "  
"Early this afternoon, Ubec Elementary School was held hostage by the alleged Phantom Troupe. While the police awaited their demands, the school exploded causing heavy amounts of damage throughout the area. The death toll is high on this one too. There were no survivors and all were either burnt alive or died by the explosion. The Troupe has yet to be caught and are still in the area. Please put your house on full lockdown. Thank you." I didn't know what that man meant, but the channel changed back to 2002.

"Oh my word..." I looked at mommy in confusion. "I-If I hadn't picked Maria up early, she would have... she would have..." Uncle Larry and I both hugged her. I didn't understand what mommy meant, but I didn't like mommy crying. We continued watching the movie after that.

 _"...the school exploded..._ "

A small grin appeared on my face.

I didn't have to go to that dumb, plastic school anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

I am 11 now.

Many things happened during the course of the years. Uncle Larry and mommy married when I was eight. When I turned 9, mommy wanted to have babies with Uncle Larry. When I turned 10, I got myself a cute pair of triplet siblings whose names were Ichi, Ni, and San. Ichi was a boy, while Ni and San were girls. They were freaking adorable and I love all of them the same.

Although they were evil and kept stealing my stuff, they were still my adorable, half-siblings.

My life before became dusts of memories, long forgotten in the depths of my mind. Because it was better to stick with the present and forget the past.

I've already forgotten the face of my abusive dad and mommy and I moved on from him.

Life was great.

Ever since the school incident years ago, mommy never let me go to school ever again. It was fine because I was self-taught. Mommy would buy me text books so I'd study while mommy and Uncle Larry were at work. And it was I who taught my adorable, 1-year-old siblings their ABCs. 

With a satisfied sigh, I leaned back over my chair letting it hang half way in the air. The triplets were in the safe barricade of pillows I set up in the living room while I was in the kitchen, studying. My brain pounded as the numbers in my head swirled mockingly.

I hate Math.

"Wah!" "Haha!" "Hihi..." Hearing the surprised voice and two laughter's mixing in, I guessed Ichi was playing around with Ni and San. Biting the nail of my thumb, I went back to my studies. I can play with them AFTER I'm done with this problem...

As I struggled to focus on the problem at hand, the door bell rang breaking my concentration. I growled, but got up from my seat. Albeit I was also confused at the sudden door bell. I wasn't expecting any delivery and my parents didn't tell me that there even was a delivery. Also I didn't have any friends, so I crossed that off the list. My neighbors were at a two month vacation so it wasn't them. Mom and Uncle Larry had the keys so why would they ring the doorbell?

Because of my impatience and annoyance, I opened the door without looking through the peephole. There stood a man I've never seen before. Casual clothes clung to his tall thin physique (I had to look up to see his face considering my short stature), but what caused my guard to harden were his amused greenish-brown eyes. He had this weird tattoo cross imprinted on his forehead that made me clutch onto the knob tightly.

This guy was bad news. I knew it.

We both stood silent, staring at each other. The air thick from the tension. Although it was almost noon, the streets were bare, no car or person in sight. Goosebumps tickled my skin hearing the triplets laughter sound behind me.

The man smiled.

"Hello, Maria. Your father sent me to check up on you." His eerie voice was familiar, but I didn't know where I've heard it before.

With narrowed eyes in suspicion, I stated, "No, he didn't. If he did, he would've called me first." I was about to slam the door shut in his face when San's cries echoed behind me. My eyes widened in horror as the man's smile widened.

"May I come in?" My teeth clenched together, my heart conflicted, but I made way for the man to enter. Quickly, I closed the door shut and ran past the man to the living room. San was still crying, but it was faint.

Once I entered the living room, my whole body froze. My jaw dropped in horror at the sight of three people sitting or standing at various place.  One of them held a crying San in her arms. My fists clenched as the words escaped my mouth with a hiss, "What do you want?" The man walked past my shaking form and stood beside the girl.

"You have such cute siblings, Maria..." My heart hammered at his words. He was threatening me. But why?! Did Uncle Larry do something or mom?!

"What about them?" I answered as coolly as possible, although my heart was hammering crazily in my chest. I focused on San who began to giggle once she saw me. "Why is it that you're here...?" Questions threatened to escape, but my throat tightened when he brushed his hand atop San's head. She was crying again. Sweat trickled down my forehead.

"I just came to see how you're doing." His words were confusing. Questions swirled around my aching head, but I wanted them to leave. And to put San down safely.

"As you can see, I'm doing splendid." I chose my words carefully, my eyes still on San who was sniffling now.

The man chuckled, a low, threatening chuckle that made chills run down my spine.

"Its dormant now, I see..." He mutters quietly. My heart stopped.

Maybe he's talking about something else... It couldn't be...

My mind swirled as my surroundings blurred.

There's no way... I've kept it a secret... No one should know about it. No one.. He couldn't have... He couldn't have...

_Drip..._

_Drip..._

_Its sticky..._

_"Get away from me!"_

_Die._

The shadows were closing in again and I blinked my eyes back to focus.

I need to stay calm...

Calm..

Breathe...

I took a breath then glared at him. "If you have nothing else to say, please leave..." The man smiled causing my heartbeat to race. He nodded at the girl and she automatically placed San down on the floor.

"Of course. Thank you for having us." I moved aside as they passed one by one. The weird man, girl who held San, blonde, and...

My breath hitched.

The last one to leave caught my eye. His eyes were a familiar shade of grey with a slight hint of silver.

I didn't know why, but a familiar sense of deja vu waved past me when I saw his face.

When the door closing shut sounded from down the hall, my knees gave out and I dropped to the ground.

Tears trickled down my cheeks as a sigh of relief escaped my mouth. They didn't hurt San...thank God... Quickly, I crawled over and scooped up San into my arms. Ichi and Ni were still in the barricade of pillows, staring innocently at me. I gave San a kiss on the head.

They're fine. They're all fine.

After that, I called mom and Uncle Larry and told them what happened. They told me that they'd be home as soon as possible.

So I waited outside on the porch. My siblings were sleeping peacefully in their room and I made sure to put lock the door and windows before leaving them.

True to their word, my parents' separate cars came speeding down the street...followed by a trail of police cars.

I expected one or two, but 10 was too much just for a break in.

Once mom's car came to a full stop, she jumped out and gave me a huge hug.

"Mom, aren't there too many-"

"Th-They didn't hurt the triplets, right?!" I nodded and she sighed in relief, patting my head.

Everything was a blur after that.

How was I supposed to know that it was the Phantom Troupe in my house? They never gave pictures of them in the news.

The news crew came 10 minutes after the police arrived.

The reason why the streets were quiet was because they killed everyone that was in our street.

Thats why no one came out when the police arrived.

They were dead.

Cold, unforgiving blankness took over my feelings.

A few days after the incident, we moved.

But no matter where we went, bodies kept piling up.


	4. Chapter 4

It was cold. The ice biting, unforgiving cold that would never leave my skin even when the warm, snuggly blankets were wrapped around me. Memories from years ago kept popping into my mind, making me struggle to fall asleep. It had been a few months, I think, since the Phantom Troupe broke into my old home and the man threatened me. It took me a while, but now I knew why he looked eerily familiar. He was the man wearing the blue shirt. Immediately, before the police left the house, I told mommy about the man (I did not tell her that we met when I was seven) so she can tell the police about him, but her face paled and contorted into a mixture of panic, horror, and fear. She never told the police; instead, we moved far, far away from Ubec City into a rural city.

But even there, one of the Phantom Troupe attacked a famous jewelry shop and killed those who were inside, and though we were not involved, mommy wanted us to move again. And again. And again. And again.

A memory then flashed into my mind...

_"WHY DO WE KEEP MOVING_ _, AREAL?!" Shouted Uncle Larry in complete frustration. The toll of always moving around and never staying in one place was getting to him. We were already on our 5th apartment complex this time and right now, it was almost midnight. I was supposed to be asleep, but the shadows kept me up so I wanted to sleep with my parents. Currently, I was peeking into their room, curious of the development that was happening._

_Mommy started to sob and I felt the shadows creeping in. "HE'S BACK, OKAY?!" The anger and anxiety in Uncle Larry's face broke into silent realization. My brows furrowed at this new found information. Was mommy talking about the creepy man?_

_"But, you said..."_

_"I know what I said, okay?!" Mommy hissed in a whisper. "After Maria gave me the details of that man, I knew it was him. The same man who..." I leaned forward to hear better, but mommy was whispering too quietly._

_Uncle Larry ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "I-I see...I'm sorry for shouting at you. I understand now the seriousness of our situation." I frowned. Wasn't our situation already serious?_

_"_ _Y-You_ _won't leave?" Uncle Larry laughed._

_"Of course not... I love you and our children." Seeing that they were now calm, I knocked the door and peeked my head in._

_Quickly, mommy wiped away her tears. "_ _M-Maria_ _, why are still up?"_

_"I had a bad dream."_

_Uncle Larry smiled. "Okay, little rascal, you stay here between mommy and I." Once I stepped into the light of the room, the shadows screamed at me to return back into the dark. I wonder then when did I get use to their moaning voices._

I shivered as the temperature in the room dropped and snuggled myself deeper into the comforts of my blankets. My body was still quite active and my brain refused to sleep as it kept popping up memory after memory into my mind.

Soon, I fell asleep.

_"_ _Sh-She's_ _beautiful..." I was standing in what looks like a pile of dump and my nose crinkled at the various smells wafting the place. The voice sounded closer to where I was standing and my body moved like a robot towards where the voice was._

_My breath hitched catching sight of a dirty woman, blood coating the lower half of her dress. "Mommy?" I called out, but the woman didn't hear me as she cooed the little bundle in her arms. I wanted to move closer, but my feet refused to move, glued to the garbage filled ground. A man stood beside her with a joyful smile, his hand ghostly touching the bundle's head._

Mommy had another child. _The thought sounded like a question than a statement. My eyes moved to the man with a heavy heart, sadness filling it to the brim._ They look so happy. This doesn't look like a dream. I never had dreams. Only nightmares. Yes, this was a nightmare.

_"My beautiful daughter..." The man breathed happily and kissed mommy on the head, tears of joy trickling down his tan cheeks. Standing there watching the two happy parents, I wondered what happened to him and the child. Why did mommy leave such a happy family and made me?_

_Mommy turned to the man. "What should we name her?" The man looked over the bundle and he smiled lovingly._

_"She is a born miracle..._ _Mireya_ _. Yes, her name will be_ _Mireya_ _." Mommy smiled back and kissed the baby on the head._

_"No matter what happens, I will protect you, my darling_ _Mireya_ _..." Mommy whispered, hugging the bundle closer to her chest. "My darling miracle." My chest tightened and I ran away from the family with tears running down my face. The trashy surroundings slowly faded away into darkness, the shadows seemingly laughing at my pain._

_"SHUT UP!" My hands wiped away the flooding tears. This is just a dream, a nightmare. I should be happy, I know I should be. It would be mommy's happiness that she never met daddy and stayed with that man and her daughter._

But what about me? _If mommy never met daddy, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have met_ _Ichi_ _,_ _Ni_ _, and San. I wouldn't have met mommy. The latter hurt most of all. Why am I overreacting though? This was just a stupid dream. When I wake up, mommy and Uncle Larry will greet me at the table then I'll play with the triplets. I sniffed. Yes, that's right...this was just a nightmare._

_"_ **_A_ ** **_MEMoRy_ ** **_._ ** **_ItS_ ** **_a_ ** **_mEmORY_ ** **_._ ** **_ITSSS_ ** **_A_ ** **_MEmOry_ ** **_. A MEMORY._ ** _" The shadows chanted in different gurgling voices. I shook my head. Shadows are liars. Wrong, they're wrong. This was just a nightmare._

_The happy family, even in such a disgusting environment, appeared in my mind and I screamed._

"M-Maria! Wake up!" The darkness turned to light as my eyes snapped wide open. Sweat clung uncomfortably to my skin and my heart hammered in my chest. A soft hand touched my cheek and my tired eyes flickered to mommy. Dark bags weighed under her eyes, but she looked wide awake as she wiped away the sweat on my face.

"Maria, did you have another nightmare?" I jumped into her arms and cried into her chest, nodding vigorously. Mommy hummed, stroking my back, and rocked back and forth trying to lull me back to sleep. "Ssh, ssh, its okay...mommy's here... Mommy's here.." My mind drifted away and my eyes start to close. With half-lidded eyes, I looked to the door briefly seeing the shadows struggling to push through. I smiled before letting the darkness take over.

Mommy was the only one the shadows never touched.

" ** _Stupid, stupid, stupid girl haha..._** ** _HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA_** ** _._** "

_This time everything surrounding me was completely dark. I began to move when a dim light flashed just a couple meters away from me. The earth beneath me was sticky and wet, which made my feet struggle to keep moving forward towards the light._

_Finally, for what felt like hours, I arrived. Air was plenty lost and my legs screamed for rest. It was just a dream, yes, but it felt all too real. I stepped into the light and my feet was free from the sticky earth. I looked down, expecting dirty shoes, but I was only bare foot. No dirt in sight._

_"Psst." At the sudden voice, I looked up, but saw only the eternal darkness. My eyes flickered down again and there laid a knife...a kitchen knife to be exact. There was no ounce of hesitation as my left hand picked up the knife. The blade was dull and it looked rusty with red encrusting into the silver._

_"Maria." Goosebumps ran up and down my skin at the familiar, eerie tone and I turned to see nothing but the darkness._

_"It isn't dormant now." I turned again, but only saw the darkness. Subconsciously, my fist_ _clenched_ _the knife._

_"_ _You know, don't you?" My breath hitched as he breathed into my ear. The knife slashed for his face, but he wasn't there._

_"_ _Wh_ _-What_ _are you talking about?!" I wanted to wake up, but it only ever gets worse unless it was mommy or Uncle Larry who did it._

_His sinister chuckle bounced around me. "_ _**You killed daddy.** _ _" A childish voice giggled and I grit my teeth._

_"I DIDN'T. YOU DID!" Mocking laughter replaced the man's voice; various tones mixing into one terrifying one._

_"Wrong. Wrong. Wrong." A sharp finger tapped me in the middle of my back. "_ _**You did. You did. You did it!** _ _"_

_My eyes flashed in anger. "SHUT UP! YOU'RE ONLY CONFUSING ME SO YOU CAN TAKE OVER AGAIN!" I breathed heavily. "I-I won't let you... I won't."_

_A heavy hand clutched my left shoulder and my head whipped to see the man in the blue shirt. My face lost its color when I looked into his eyes. The same one as the Phantom Troupe member with the cross tattoo. I tried to back away from him, but his hold was strong. "Maria, Maria, Maria..." His pale face leaned towards mine, a sickening smile on his lips. "You still don't realize, don't you?" My eyes narrowed and it made his smile widen. "_ _**Your shadows...are you.** _ _" His voice mixed in with the terrifying one and his eyes turned black._

_"Liar! I won't listen to you!" I finally broke away from the death grip, my shoulder numb of feeling. "This is just a nightmare...a world where the shadows can torment me." I hissed, but he only smiled. When I blinked, he was gone._

_"_ _**Your choice...your choice..haha, stupid, stupid girl haha.** _ _" My body froze both in horror and fear as the shadows slithered into the light. "_ _**Remember...your fault...your choice...haha.** _ _" My mouth opened to scream when one was about to grab me, but the shadows began to hiss in pain, going back into the darkness._

_"Stop getting nightmares...its frustrating enough to see you like this." A husky voice echoed and it made the light expand, making the shadows scream. "Don't let them take over. I don't like seeing you so frightened over something so..." Smooth, yet rough hand cupped the sides of my face, but when my hand touched my cheek, there was nothing there. "Damn it...why the *beep* am I doing this..." The voice cursed, sighing. Something brushed my hair, ghost fingers caressing my head._

_"Who...are you?" I shouted and the caress stopped._

_"Ha...you asked the same thing before..." The hand left me and my eyes widened in panic as the darkness slowly ate away the expanded light._

_"No! Wake me up, PLEASE WAKE ME UP!" My eyes flickered to the knife and without hesitation, I..._

"AH!" I jolted up from my bed and looked around panicked and scared. My racing heart began to calm once I realized I was really awake. My right hand touched my chest where the knife pierced through and I gulped in loads of air.

That's when I remembered.

"Someone...was here with me..." This was supposed to bring fear, instead, I felt relieved. That person stopped the shadows from taking over me. I smiled.

"Thank you..." I whispered, but then slapped myself for being stupid. It was plain creepy speaking to myself. After a few seconds, a yawn soon escaped my throat and my eyes drowsily start to close. I was scared of going back to sleep; it would ensue another nightmare.

 _"Stop getting nightmares..."_ His comforting voice echoed in my mind and that was all it took for my anxiety to disappear.

As my mind slowly drifted away into a cloud of nothingness, I briefly wondered why this person could make all my fears go away...so different than my parents...than mommy.

"He knows about the shadows." As the words left my mouth, the lulling darkness took me away into a dreamless state.

It was the first time I slept without a nightmare and the shadows never tried to take complete control of my mind. It was just beautiful rest.


	5. Chapter 5

It was morning now and still I couldn't help but think about the mysterious guy who stopped the shadows from taking over. The memory about the school appeared in mind...the guy who patted my head...maybe it was him.

"Maria, darling, are you ok?" I looked up from my food and stared into mommy's eyes. "Your face is red...are you getting a fever?" Mommy tried to reach out to touch my forehead, but I quickly leaned back away from her hand. After mommy said that, I could feel the heat rushing up to my face.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine... I just had a good night sleep." I stuttered out looking down at my food again. I didn't see it, but mommy smiled her hand clenching the spoon.

Uncle Larry cleared his throat. "Yes, well, your mommy and I were discussing about something...most specifically, you, Maria." My brow rose and my lips twitched to a frown.

I looked up from the food to stare into their serious gazes. "Uh...why?" My ears perked at the sound of laughter coming from my parents' room. Ichi, Ni, and San were playing...

Mommy averted her gaze while Uncle Larry kept his own on mine. "We know why the Phantom Troupe keeps appearing to where we are." My eyes widened. "Its...because of you." Uncle Larry said these words with great difficulty, hurt crossing his serious features. My brows furrowed at this information and I slowly shook my head side to side.

"Why me?" Mommy sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks. Uncle Larry patted her on the back to comfort her.

He replied. "Maria, you are the target." I stood up slamming my hands on the table causing the dishes and my parents to jump.

"What do you mean by that?!" I already knew this, yet I couldn't help the fear pumping its way in. The darkness was slowly slithering in again. The shadows were talking nonsense. My parents wouldn't do that...I am their daughter. I am just eleven.

"Maria, I'm sorry... But you have to leave." Uncle Larry looked heartbroken when he said these words. My brows knit together as the tears filled up my eyes. I am their daughter. "Don't worry...we will be sending you money every week and we can talk to each other through phone calls. And if you want, we can visit every month..."

**I was their daughter.**

My vision blanked out and I fell down, hitting something hard on the head. The shadows pushed past my fallen form and went into the dim light. But before complete darkness took over, I heard mommy scream.

I don't know how long I was out, but when my eyes opened, it was already dark and the lights were out, leaving me in the darkness. My hand touched my head and I winced at the bump. I blinked, a nauseous feeling going up my throat and a severe headache pulsing my brain. I shook my head.

"M-Mom... U-Uncle Larry..." I tried to call, but it all came out as a hoarse whisper. I coughed and noticed my throat was dry. I needed water. Wearily, I stood up and groaned, feeling pain in every part of my body. I blinked again, trying to see through the blurry dots. The house was eerily silent and my heart twinged in pain, thinking they had left and the reason why I was on the ground was because I was crying till my throat was hoarse. I shook my head when the aching got worse. My feet were heavy as I tried to walk through the watery floor. Did I really cry that hard to flood the ground? I grit my teeth as the aching pulsed painfully with each step I took towards what I thought was the light switch.

After few grueling minutes, I finally reached my destination and flipped the light switch. What I saw would haunt me every single day of my life. Blood. It wasn't tears, but blood that I was walking on. My vision cleared and the horror started to sink in. Pieces of flesh stuck on every part of the dining room as if the body exploded, coloring the room in a wonderful splatter of red and pink. It wasn't the blood...the flesh...or the dead lumps of flesh where my parents sat that made me feel disgusted.

It was me. The fact that I didn't feel disgusted at the sight made me want to puke on the bloody ground. That's when I noticed the red color coating my arms like paint. My lips formed a broken grin as tears filled up my eyes.

"I...didn't do this..." The shadows were again laughing at me like in my dreams. "They did. The shadows...did." I shook my head and started to walk towards my parent's room where the cute triplets were supposed to be laughing...playing...giggling. I hesitated opening the door when I arrived. It was like a taunt...mocking me to open the door. My hand shook when I grasped the door and pushed it open. The welled up tears flooded my cheeks and my knees fell to the ground.

"I didn't do this." In the center of the room where my cute, wonderful triplets strung up by their intestines like puppets. Their faces in endless smiles, but their eyes dead of emotion or life.

"It wasn't me..." I sniffed, wiping away the tears and standing up. I forgot I needed water and only felt the loss of energy to move.

 ** _"Your choice...haha...your fault hahahahahaha."_** The terrifying voice taunted again and I hummed.

"My choice. My fault." The shadows were trying to take over again, but I shook my head. Looking up the strung up puppets, I bowed my head, "I'm sorry." I quickly left the room and went into my own. The landlord would be coming soon to visit so I had to leave. Even if I told the police I didn't do this, after they'd see my arms...that I was the only one alive. They won't believe me. I coughed and sniffed, the snot dripping down my nose. I wiped it away and took off my bloody clothes. I didn't have the time to bathe so I wore a long sleeve blue hoodie and put on black gloves. Black jeans hugged my legs and I put on my favorite rubber shoes. I grabbed a backpack and filled it up with my clothes and the wallet I stole from Uncle Larry (he said that whoever stole it can keep it) then slung it over my shoulder.

"Are you really doing this?" My head whipped to the door way to see a younger version of myself. I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I don't have much of a choice." I replied, but the little girl was gone. I shook my head. I grabbed a face mask and put it on, to cover up the blood that was still on my face.

With that, I left.

It irked me how I felt absolutely nothing after seeing the deaths of my family. Even I knew that was a lie. A police car went past me and the tears flooded down my cheeks once more. I coughed and kept walking down the dark street.

Unbeknownst to me, a dark figure was following me, having seen what happened, but did not do anything to stop it.

"Why the hell am I doing this?" A familiar voice whispered and my head whipped behind me, but saw nothing. My hand gripped the strap of my bag before shaking my head. Its just the shadows playing with you again... I reasoned to myself then kept walking.

The dark figure came out of his hiding spot, his eyes watching my retreating form. He sighed. "Fuck reason..." Then he followed me in quiet footsteps. It wasn't his mission to do it, the boss never ordered him to do it. He was just doing it for this confusing feeling in his chest. To calm it down and find a cure for it.


	6. Chapter 6

Nightmares. Horrible, terrifying nightmares. Where my parents and my cute half-siblings would appear in their grotesque forms, calling for me in moans and groans.

Those were better than the shadows that kept attaching themselves on me. Underneath my eyes were heavy bags, exhausted from another sleepless night. Death and hunger trailed behind every place I went. There was no home, no life, and no one to help me with this curse of mine. Because I get hungry all the time, the money I had salvaged from Uncle whats his name had already been used up a long time ago, but for some unknown reason, whenever I'd wake up from another terrible rest, money that wasn't supposed to be there would be chucked deeply inside my bag. It was worth almost twenty thousand jenny. This would only happen though whenever I drift off to sleep. Desperately, I'd try to see who my savior is, but if I didn't fall asleep, I wouldn't be given money.

"Oi, you're not supposed to stay there." My blank eyes diverted from the wall to the man standing before me. He was around thirty years old, just assuming, and has messy blue hair and crystal blue eyes. He is at a height of 6'2 from where I was sitting. He is holding a broom, maybe to shoo off hobos or strangers who stay here. I stood up from the murky ground and bowed in apology. I bet I looked and smelled disgusting, noticing his nose crinkle when I moved. It had been a while since I last took a bath. Most specifically, a year.

Damn, how is my hair still so clean?

"You should go back home, kid. Your parents must be worried sick." He pointed out and a dry chuckle escaped my throat. Sadness pooled in my eyes as I remembered the memory from three years ago.

That's right... I am going to turn fifteen in just a few days. Too bad no one's going to celebrate it. Good thing that savior of mine always gives me some cash.

The man saw my sadness and briefly smiled, swinging the broom over his shoulder. "Hey, why don't you come inside for a bit? You look a little hungry and you need a bath." I didn't even try to fight back as I followed the man towards a double door a few meters from where I sat. Even if he had malicious intent, the shadows would take care of everything. They always do.

Speaking of the shadows. My eyes glazed over and my jaw clenched. Over the years, I thought that I was born with this curse; turns out, I wasn't. Ever since that incident from years ago, I began to listen to shadows now, including the terrifying one. They were actually telling the truth, but I never accepted that I killed those people. I wasn't in control of my body so technically I wasn't at fault. As I was saying, the shadows never came from me, but from the people with dark intentions. The shadows scream of hatred, anger, maliciousness, jealousy, lust...anything that was negative. When I knew of the truth, my eyes opened...like literally opened. I wasn't the only one that the shadows cling onto; they also cling to everyone who had any negative aura. Because I was born in an abusive, fearing environment, more shadows cling to me than anyone. They only stay until you accept that what happened is part of your life.

It was different for me though.

All because I was a vessel for those negative fueled shadows. To everyone else, they'd only whisper. Whisper horrible things. Disgusting things. Things that no one ever wants to hear.

Why am I vessel though? I tried asking the shadows, but the man with the cross tattoo would appear and I'd wake up. He still scares me.

"Hellooo, anyone there?" I blinked and saw that I am currently sitting on a bar stool...delicious looking beef steak plated before me. Half of it was already eaten. The taste of honey lingered in my tongue. This usually happens so I never bothered to worry anymore. My eyes flickered from the food to the man. He is sitting beside me, his blue eyes filled with concern.

I gave him a small smile. "Sorry...just thinking." The man nodded and placed his chin on his hand.

"Where do you live? I mean, did."

I wasted no time to answer. "Ubec City." His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Woah, you're really far from your home." My lips twitched to a frown and my fist gripped the fork.

"That isn't home. Home is a place where your love ones are there. Home doesn't have an abusive father. Home gives you love. Home makes you feel secure! Home is... Home is-!" I didn't notice it but I began shouting, tears brimming my eyes and the fork in my hand bended from my strength. The man looked sympathetic and placed his hand on my head, ruffling my dirty hair. It reassured me a little. But didn't stop the shadows from moving closer to where we were sitting.

I stabbed the steak and stuffed all of it into my mouth to calm myself down.

The man chuckled, maybe from my bulging cheeks, and took away his hand. "I'll let you stay for a while if you want." At those words, I shook my head. Staying would mean attaching myself to someone else, the shadows loves it when they see me break down. Because when I break down, they can take over.

And they will not hesitate to kill him.

The memory flashed in my mind again.

The man sighed, disappointed. "I see. If you want to shower, the bathroom is just up the stairs across of it." I nodded and jumped off of my seat, bringing along my bag.

"Do you have any clothes?" Asked the man. I frowned. They were dirty, but they would... "My daughter has some old clothes from when she was your age. I think they'll fit you. I'll leave them on the counter." Before I could decline, he already pushed me along. 

It took almost an hour for me to finish washing myself. The dirt and smell was hard to clean off. True to his word, the man left a black shirt and loose pants and I automatically changed into them. I was glad that I still had some clean underwear. I didn't even look at the mirror when I left the bathroom, feeling fresh for the first time in years.

Even then, I could still feel the blood on my skin. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

I walked back down the stairs and was greeted by the man again with a gentle smile on his face. In his right hand is a picture frame with two people in it, a younger version of him and a girl in her teens.

Once I was close to him, I asked, "Is that your daughter?" The woman had the same blue hair he had, but had black eyes. The two were happy with wide grins on their faces.

The man nodded. "Yeah, she's already in her twenties though... She visits from time to time, but I miss her being here." He sighed exasperated. "Even though I told her it's dangerous, she still went and joined the Hunter Exam." This piqued my interest.

"Hunter Exam?"

He nodded. "Its for those who want to be professional hunters. Being a Hunter is especially big in this time of age. You have a lot of free access to public places and you can go to countries that have limited access. I heard that they also earn a lot." My ears perked at the latter.

"I see."

"The Hunter Exam is dangerous though... I heard that death is almost unavoidable there so I'm worried for Ponzu." The daughter's name is Ponzu, huh?

I smiled, though I'm sure it didn't show in my eyes. "If she's joining the Exam, that means she believes in her strength, no?" He nodded sadly. "Then have faith in her." The man sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I know, I know." He bit his lip as he looked at the photo. "I just hope she'll be safe." I smiled at the love in his eyes.

Hunter Exam, huh?

My eyes flickered to my hands, although clean I could still picture the blood soaking them. "So, where is this Hunter Exam taking place?"

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, nonetheless sighed for the nth time. "Zaban City...its just a couple of kilometers walk from here. I don't want you to go, but it looks like you won't listen to me. Its your choice."

**_Its your choice. Your fault._ **

I shook my head at the disturbing voice. "Mhmm...thanks for the bath and the meal. I'll be going now." I walked to the double doors leading outside back into the darkness. My eyes flickered to the clock briefly, it was seven in the evening...the streets should be dark now. Dark meant danger, but my savior was there so I didn't worry. Plus I didn't like sleeping.

"Its dangerous right now. Stay and rest for the night." I waved him off and left the building.

Walking down the quiet road, my heart thumped loudly with each step I took. Due to the silence, my ears became sensitive to sound. I could feel it like always; someone is following me. This time,  a little farther than last time. My head whipped behind me to confront the person, but it was either I was just being paranoid or he/she is pretty good at hiding in the shadows. I looked down at my hand and noticed the black aura surrounding it. I didn't know what it was but it resembled a shadow, albeit differently. It was like a black fog coating your skin, but not touching. It coated my entire body, but I never noticed, only seeing it on my hands. Looking back behind me, I saw a person's silhouette but instead of investigating, I turned back to the direction of Zaban City and kept walking.

Whoever that owned the silhouette never followed me.

I looked down at the badge on my chest...the number 402 largely printed on it. I don't actually remember how I got into this dark tunnel with tons of people. The last thing I remembered was the darkness. I must've fallen asleep while I was walking. I could still see and smell the blood that the shadows tried to wash off, but I remained nonchalant. After a year, I stopped feeling guilty. It wasn't me who killed them anyway; it was the shadows.

Currently, I was sitting on the sides and my eyes flickered to the elevator when a loud ding echoed through the tunnel. Three people emerged from the elevator...a young boy, an old guy, and a guy that looked around my age. I didn't think they were that important so I concentrated back to the shadows.

Shadows. When did I call them that? Dunno...didn't care. But still, why do they stick to me though? There should be a specific reason why I was chosen from the thousands of broken people around the world. What made me different from the rest?

"Excuse me." My eyes blurred back into focus and an old man in some blue clothes stared at me with a small smile on his face. Blue? Ah, the blue people. No... My eyes narrowed before shaking my head. Different.

"Uuh, my name is Tonpa. Is this your first time here?" A lot of shadows clung to him, but it didn't seem he noticed. There was something sinister, no that word didn't really fit him. The man with the cross tattoo had the sinister vibe...the guy standing before me had a despicable one. A trickster, I presumed.

"You trick people. I don't like you." I whispered in a quiet tone and his eyes widened, taking a step back and then walking away quickly. Bothersome.

Why was I even here?

A peculiar ringing didn't quite register in my ears as I got lost in my thoughts.

Ah, right...money...I get lots of money if I pass the exam.

Footsteps sounding simultaneously together reverberated up my feet and my eyes quickly flicker to the people walking deep into the tunnel. I stood up and followed them. I stayed behind a person in pink? Or was it white? Clothes with pink hair spiked up like flames. He had no shadows clinging to his body so I felt much more at ease being close to him. He didn't seem to notice my existence, which partially made me glad. Even though he didn't seem all that bad, the shadows screamed at me to get away, terrified of the man I was following.

Their screams were music to my ears.

" ** _Bad person...wrong...wrong...kill...no hesitation._** " The terrifying voice made sense in a way. But why would the person before me be bad? He had no shadows. No shadows were good. Good in my book. And what did it mean by kill or no hesitation?

I shook my head when my eyes began to glaze as I wander into my thoughts. Focus, Maria. If you fall asleep, the shadows will kill everyone.

That did not do any help, but still I managed to finish the 1st Exam without letting the shadows take control. Weird though, where was my savior? I didn't sense them at all. Did they leave me alone? This panicked me. My hands began to shake uncontrollably at the thought, darkness blurring my sight. Even though I couldn't see them, as long as they were there, I felt safe...comforted...because my savior reminded me of that person. That person who stopped the shadows from taking over. Red brushed my cheeks remembering his voice echoing in my mind.

 _"Don't let_ _them take over."_ His voice calmed me and my hands stopped shaking.

"What are you standing there for?" My eyes flickered up to see a woman in a seen through blouse showing her bra and short shorts. "The exam already started." I looked around to see that there were a lot of kitchen stuff. Cooking. This was a cooking exam.

" ** _Hehehehehe_** ** _...die die die. I want my mommy. -Help me! Let me in!_** " I ignored the various voices echoing in my mind and nodded warily at the woman. Just like the man before, no shadows clung to her. I gave her a once over before running outside.

Since it was quite understandable that I had no idea how to cook, the lady failed me and I sighed, thinking 'oh well, at least I tried my best'. But even when I thought that, the shadows got angry; they were shouting, screaming, and yelling out complaints all at the same time that their words became undescribable.

I yawned. Ugh, I'm so sleepy.

I could feel the shadows try to push into the light, but before my eyes could close, some old guy appeared out of nowhere from the airship floating in the sky. I looked at him through half-lidded eyes. He also has no shadows. I rubbed my eyes and struggled to keep the yawn from escaping my throat. So, so tired...

"Excuse me, everyone's already in the ship." I blinked and looked behind me to see the ship from the sky on the ground. Why does time travel faster when I get lost in my thoughts?

The one who called me was a little boy, presumably twelve years old. The same boy who last entered during the First Exam. He had spiked blackish brown hair and innocent brown eyes. He was smiling and waving at me from the entrance of the ship. Weirdly, he barely any shadows on him; only a ting black smudge clung to his body, but it was weak. A white haired boy the same age as him stared blankly at me. Goosebumps ran up and down my skin at the multiple, large shadows clinging to his form and my vision shook as the darkness blurred my sight.

"Miss!" That was the last thing I heard before blacking out.

_*Flashback? Dream?*_

_"One, two, tie my shoes! Three, four, shut the door!" I giddily jumped over a pile of trash, my clothes spotted dirty and tattered. I took another step forward then with a squeal jumped on top of a decaying body._

_"Five, six, get my crucifix!" I crouched down and pulled out the bones from the corpse, humming to the tune. After collecting what was needed, I walked away and searched for a clear patch without any trash. Coughs, moans, and groans echoed around me, but I continued humming to the tune. The smell of decay and trash hung in the air as I surveyed my playground. My eyes widened in delight once I found a clear ground._

_I crouched down again and dropped the bones on the ground. "Seven, eight, stay awake!" The bones formed a cross on the ground and I grinned from ear to ear._

_"Nine, ten, he's back again!" My head whipped to the side and my eyes sparkled seeing daddy walking back from work._ _His clothes were clean and pressed neatly to his tall form, unlike several people living here._

_He smiled fondly at me and outstretched his arms for me to jump into. I did._

_"What were you doing here? Aren't you a little too far from home and mommy?" He picked me up into the air and placed me on his shoulders._

_I giggled. "Mr. Griffin said you'd come through here and not the usual place." Daddy's brows furrowed and a confused look crossed his features._

_"Dear, Mr. Griffin went back home to the city, remember?" I giggled once more._

_"Big liar, daddy. You and your friends played with him until he couldn't breathe!" I placed my chin on top of his head, pouting. "Why didn't you let me play too?"_

_"Let's go home. Mommy must be worried sick for you." Daddy's voice was filled with panic as he began walking and I tilted my head to the side._

_"A lot cling to you, daddy." His movements paused and he turned his head up to look at me._

_"A lot?" I nodded._

_"Shadows." I hummed the tune I sang earlier. "Mr. Griffin is one of them._ _" I sighed and rubbed my ears. "He keeps screaming though. It starts to hurt."_


	7. Chapter 7

Darkness filled my vision and rainbow colors dotted them. I knew my eyes were closed and made no move to open them. I feared that if I did I would see another pile of bodies. Another pile of bodies I'd walk away from, caring less about what their families would feel when they saw their mangled bodies. I'd prefer the darkness rather than see the reality I was living in.

"Tsk, we should already fail her! She's been unconscious long enough and the Exam needs to continue!" A familiar, feminine voice shouted and my eyes instantly flashed open, immediately sitting up from my lying position. Looking past the glare of the woman (I think she's the examiner...I never really paid any attention), I saw people walking about and eating some large boiled egg.

"Hah! Miss, are you okay?!" My eyes flickered to the young boy with spiked hair running over to me and my mouth twitched to a frown at the white-haired demon following behind him. He was frowning at me as well.

I ignored the young boy and turned to the old man standing beside the woman. From what I've heard, he's the one in charge.

I quickly queried as I stood up, shaking slightly from the sudden good rest I had. "What is the exam...?" The woman clicked her tongue and explained to me what I needed to do.

Ah, just jump and grab an egg?

The two watched me as I walked over to the edge of the cliff. I looked down to see the webs and eggs hanging from them. My stomach grumbled and my mouth watered for the food.

"W-Wait, that's not the only thing you need-!" From the young boy's desperate tone, there was something else I should know but it was too late, I already jumped.

The air blew against my black hair up high as I fell down towards my doom. My hands didn't even try to grab a web and just went for the egg  while I fell down. The desperate shouts of the young boy could still be clearly heard, but the gust of wind blocked his words from reaching my ears. The wind pushed me back up to the cliff and I landed on my stomach with a soft grunt, the huge egg safe in my hands.

This all happened in the span of 5-10 seconds.

"Seems like these are your candidates for the Third Exam, Chairman." The woman said and I got up from the ground. The young boy looked at me, shocked, his mouth open wide. My eyes flickered to the egg for a brief moment before shrugging and walking away.

Thankfully, the boy did not follow me.

"Hmmm..." It was a soft hum amidst all the other disturbing chattering of people, but I was able to hear it from where I was. My head turned to look at who hummed and it was the man in pink? or white? clothes. My feet stopped moving for a moment to stare at him. The man had a look of amusement written all over his face as he stared directly at me with a queen of spades in his right hand. What was the meaning behind that card? And why does it look like...? My eyes blinked back to focus when I dozed off again. What was I doing...? Oh yes, the man in pink or white clothes. Considering the fact that he had no shadows, I assumed he was someone good, hopefully kind, and smiled at him before continuing my way back to the airship. The ones who passed and the examiners soon followed after consuming their food.

When the airship left the mountain, the bean guy gave instructions that it will take a while for us to arrive at the location of the Third Exam and let us take the night to rest. Immediately, I went for the dining hall to boil my egg.

While walking down the hall with the egg in my arms, I happened to bump into the nice guy with flaming dark pink hair.

I smiled. "Good evening." He smiled back in return.

"What is a little girl like you doing here?" I pouted at his words. Even though I am soon to turn fifteen, I was practically the same height with the young boy I saw earlier.

My shoulders moved to shrug. "Why would a magician want to be a Hunter?" I questioned back. Again, I assumed he is a magician noticing how he would suddenly flick out a card every so often.

"Fufu, good, very good... My name is Hisoka." He stretched out his hand with a smirk on his face. I have absolutely no idea why I don't find his face creepy or scary in fact. Living in darkness does that to a person, I guess. His voice could not compare to shadows constantly whispering in my ears. As I looked down at his hand, I pondered if I should give him my name.

I grasped his hand with my own and shook it. "Maria." My stomach grumbled and I sighed, letting my hand return to holding up the egg. "It was nice to meet you, Hisoka. Bye." I passed him without much of a glance and my thoughts began to wander again.

Weird. Not once did I hear the shadows... I frowned. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? My eyes flickered to my shoulders but there were no black spots or smudge sticking to me. Even though I should feel at ease, the heaviness in my chest never went away.

_"One, two....stay awake!...A lot cling to you, daddy..."_

A childish tone of a little girl buzzed in my brain and my steps stopped as I recollected my thoughts. My brows furrowed in concentration trying to remember where I heard that voice before. No memory or image came to mind when the words repeated in my mind again and again.

My shoulders drooped as I sighed and continued walking again.

Maybe I'm thinking too much again. Like always, before, this just has to be nothing.

Probably one of the memories of the shadows. This always happened.

Even though that thought passed my mind, that odd, deja vu feeling weighed heavily inside me like an anchor sunk deep into the sand under the raging ocean waters.

My shoulder bumped a person, but I was too lost in my thoughts to apologize.

"Oi, you little brat..." I felt a large hand grip my shoulder roughly. The shadows who I thought were gone ignited like an explosion and wrapped themselves around me. My eyes flashed open wide in shock before losing their color and went blank of any emotion. Memories of the past burst open from the deep depths in my mind.

_So sticky..._

_So much red, sticky stuff._

_Blood._

_Yes, definitely right, blood._

The black, inky darkness dotted my vision and I inhaled sharply.

" _ **Wrong move, old man...**_ " The terrifying voice hissed in my mind, but also came out of my mouth in an undescribable garble.

"What the he-" A loud smash echoed through the hallway followed by a bunch of squishy stuff plopping down on the ground with a sickening squelch. I wanted to fight back against the shadows pushing forward towards the dimming light. I really do. But no matter how strong the spirit, no matter how much I'd fight against the darkness, if my flesh is weak, if the pain is too much to bear, there was only one thing I could do.

_Just give in and let the pain pass._

My eyes stared up at the shadows pushing up the hole as I sunk down into the murky darkness, away from the light in the sky.

_"Don't let them take over..."_

His words went through deaf ears and I couldn't help but sob, chocking in the darkness.

 _I'm sorry, whoever you are, but._.. Tears flooded from my eyes and my cries came louder.

But no one heard me.

Just me. Only me.

No one can ever understand the pain I'm going through.

I closed my eyes and let the darkness take over.

 _It was another same day in Meteor City. Daddy left for work and mommy finished cooking food using junk she found amidst the trash and the food came from Daddy's_ _'_ _groceries'_ _. Whatever that word meant._ _Currently, I was playing with the bones mixed with some broken toys that I got from my previous playground. My cheeks puffed at the memory. Daddy was really weird...saying stuff that he had no idea what I was talking about. Mr. Griffin even showed me some pictures in my mind about how they did it and the games they played with each other._

_I didn't like the part when red stuff started to come out of his skin. It was a little gross, especially with Mr. Griffin's face all bloated up._

_Bleh_ _._

_Anyways, because of what I told Daddy, he didn't want me to play in that playground anymore and to never leave mommy's side or be far away from the house. Daddy is pretty unfair though; how come he can leave the house?_

_"_ _Hmph_ _." I clicked my tongue as I put down my toys. I'm bored. For a brief moment, my eyes lingered at the door telling me to leave and I looked behind me to see mommy lying down on the battered coach, soft snores escaping her open mouth every so often._

_"Daddy did say I shouldn't be_ _**too** _ _far from the house." I giggled at the idea and jumped up from the ground then started to skip towards my freedom. I didn't even bother to be quiet because the shadows said mommy would be sleeping for a very long time. Saying that daddy had fun with mommy last night._

_How unfair, I thought, I wanted to play too._

_When I was a good distance from my home, I dubbed the open space, free of sick people or any people at all and garbage or junk, my new playground. Because I did not bring any of my toys, I decided to just draw on the ground with a small stick I found laying around._

_Weirdly enough, I never questioned the fact how eerily quiet it was around my home, even though there should hundreds of people scavenging around for food or trash to keep. There were moans and garbled noises every so often, but it was quiet unlike when mommy and I would go and visit her sickly friend near the big, broken buildings._

_"You're not supposed to be here." I flinched at the sudden, irritated tone coming from above and turned to see a boy standing atop a pile of garbage looking down at me. This boy was different from the rest of the kids I've seen. He was clean despite the numerous trash around here and his hair was slightly messy from the gusts of wind. His piercing grey eyes glared daggers at me, his hands deep down in his pockets. But instead of feeling scared, I was confused._

_I tilted my head to the side. "Why? I live here." His eyes narrowed slightly._

_"This is the boss's home. He doesn't like it when any brats or anyone at all going near his family." My brows furrowed at his words._

_"Aren't you a brat too?" I questioned with a question mark above my head. He grit his teeth and a vein popped out of his pale forehead._

_"Just get out of here before I'll have to make you." He hissed angrily and I glared at him._

_"I already told you I live here! Daddy said I can't go too far from the house or he won't bring me more food!" I pointed towards the direction of my home, which was a small house with enough space to be a living place, and grumbled, "And I want food... So, I'm not leaving!"_

_I didn't notice his eyes widen in shock and his jaw slacks. "You...Are you_ _Chrollo's_ _kid?" At his question, I felt thoroughly confused._

_"_ _Chrollo_ _?" That's right, I never really got daddy's or mommy's real names... I mean, I didn't think it was that important._

_The boy shook his head. "_ _Never mind_ _. What are you doing outside of your home?" I hummed, thinking._

_"I'm bored so I wanted to play." An idea then popped into my mind and my eyes sparkled, looking hopefully into his eyes. "Do you want to play?" He stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing, nodding his head._

_"What do you want to play?" Disdain and irritation laced his tone as he came down from the pile to stand in front of my kneeling form._

_I squealed. "I wanna arm wrestle or...or...or play fight with sticks!" He blinked at me._

_"You don't want to play house?" My nose crinkled at his words._

_"_ _Ew_ _, no. Mommy and daddy do it all the time...its gross._ _Bleh_ _." I exaggerated it with a pretend vomit. The boy chuckled._

_"I see. Let's arm wrestle then." Having said that, we began to arm wrestle on the dirty ground with our stomachs laying flat since there was no elevated surface for us to do it while sitting down. I won a couple of times, which made me extremely happy, but the boy said he felt sorry for me so he let me win._

_Hours passed fast while we played around under the cloudy sky with hints of sun light passing through. We both laughed and talked and pushed each other around. Well, mostly me being the energetic child I am, the boy tried to be as enthusiastic but he just looked weird when he forced himself to do so and I'd point it out then he'd_ _bonk_ _me on the head._

_It might be already in the late afternoon when the boy and I are finally done playing and were lying on the ground with dirt spotting our clothes and skin._

_"Can we play tomorrow as well?" I asked out of the blue with hope sparkling in my eyes when I turned to look at him._

_He smiled. "If the boss doesn't give me any orders, I'll try to play with you." I pouted and poked his cheek._

_"_ _Awww_ _, but I wanna play again tomorrow."_

_He rolled his eyes. "We'll see." My cheeks puffed at his words and I looked away from him._ _"Is the little baby sad? Is she gonna cry?" I glared at the small_ _roc_ _k laying nearby and ignored his mocking tone._

_"I'm not sad! Its just..." My lips formed a frown. "...I never really made any friends my age. Daddy and mommy were all I have. Now..." I turned back to him with a content smile. "I have you." Suddenly, his pale cheeks colored pink and my brows knit together at the change of tone._

_"Your cheeks are pink." I pointed out and the color deepened to red. "_ _Ooohhh_ _, now they're red! How do you do that?! I wanna do it too!" I leaned towards him to get a closer look, but he quickly sat up and looked away from me. I pouted, but didn't pry any further. Instead, I sat up as well and we fell back into silence._

_"Your name." His voice broke the silence and I looked at him. "I never got your name."_

_I smiled._ _"Mommy calls me Maria, but daddy..." I tried to explain, but then his eyes suddenly lit up and he immediately stood up._

_"I have to go." My smile fell, disappointed and he began to walk away._

_"Wait!" I called out and he stopped to look at me, his eyes telling me to hurry. My fingers fumbled with the hem of my shirt as I muttered, "You...I never got your name. Its proper to give your name after I told you mine."_

_"Its_ _Fei_ _-_ _"_

_"Maria?! Maria, where are you?!" Mommy's panicked voice yelled nearby and my head whipped to turn to her. Her eyes connected with mine and she quickly jogged towards me. "Maria! What are you doing outside the house?!" She said when she arrived and gasped at how dirty I looked. "And your clothes?!"_

_I pouted. "I was playing with a new friend! His name is..." I turned to face the boy, but from where he stood was just a bunch of small stones. "_ _Fei_ _?"_

_Mommy sighed. "Is it your imaginary friends again, Maria? I thought we talked about this." My head whipped towards her with wide eyes._

_"Mommy,_ _Fei_ _isn't imaginary and the shadows aren't as well! They're real!" Mommy shook her head and carried me into her arms._

_"I don't want to have this talk with a five year old... We need to get home and prepare dinner for daddy." I crossed my arms, annoyed that mommy did not believe me._

_"They don't like what you said, mommy. They're mad."_

_"Yes, yes, Maria. Of course. Lets_ _go home now."_

_If only she believed me then, she would have escaped her terrible fate._

_Well, that's what the shadows whispered into my ear_ _s anyway._


	8. Chapter 8

Loud clanging sounds echoed throughout the dark room followed by a loud, gurgling screech.

"AAHHHGGGG!!"

The people inside the room were visibly disturbed at the thing that made the sound. These people were the examiners from the past two exams, including Chairman Netero.

"...what is that?"  A tall, lanky man breaks the silence between them. His arched brows were creased together in confusion and his blue eyes flashed with slight horror. They were all facing a wall opposite them, a few meters away from the thing attached to it. Chains wrapped around the thing's arms and legs gave it minimal movement, but it didn't stop it from twisting its body making loud popping sounds. The thing screeched again before vomiting loudly, its stomach contents splashing on the ground.

" _ **STUPID OLD MAN, I'LL KILL YOU!!! KILL!! DIE!!! MAMA, HELP**_ _ **MEEEEE**_ _ **!!!**_ _ **AAAAHHHHHHH**_ _ **!!!!**_ " Various voices followed with each end of the sentence and the thing laughed loudly after screaming. A woman with green tied into five knots, hesitating, finally switched the light on. What they saw made their stomachs churn.

A girl, no older than fifteen, was the one chained against the wall. Blood colored every part of the girl's body and her surroundings, but the most scary part of her were her eyes. They were pitch black and dark green veins popped around them. Most of her bones were shown to be broken, but the girl paid no heed to it only screaming more in different voices.

" _ **LEMME GO!!! I'LL KILL EVERYONE! EVERYONE! WE'LL SHOW THEM OUR WORTH!**_ _ **DIEEEEEE**_ _ **!!!!**_ " The screaming made the examiners' ears ring painfully and the woman standing by the switch felt something wet trail down from her nose. It was the same with the others. They touched it and saw that it was blood.

"She's finally using her voice to send out her aura towards us..." The woman whispered as she clicked her tongue. The tall man standing beside her nodded slowly. A white fog began to coat their skin and the girl's voice no longer made any effect on them.

The girl notices this and she snarls angrily. " _ **You... You know it... Know know know it!**_ " The voice now was mixed into a terrifying one. She craned her, making a loud popping sound. " _ **Troublesome pests. So so so troublesome.**_ " She sighed as if troubled and glared at Chairman Netero. " _ **You will only make her worse. Worse. Worse. Worse! She's in pain, distress! No one can understand her! Can help her! Only I do! Only**_ _ **us**_ _ **...**_ " She groaned those last words with a pleasurable sigh. The grey fog coating her skin seemed to darken considerably before taking shape of a tall man, but no one saw it.

Chairman Netero frowned at her words, turning to face his company. "Its been more than 16 hours since we locked her up, yet she is still able to exert this much aura." His eyes flickered back to the snarling girl. "An unlimited amount of aura..."

The woman frowned as well. "What do we do, Chairman? Should we call another Exorcist Hunter?"

The big one who stayed silent during the whole ordeal shook his head. "They're going to be like the last one, Menchi... When we get too close, her Ren overpowers our Ten and slowly suffocates us under the force." He looked at the mangled corpse close to the girl. "We'll end up like that Exorcist Hunter."

The lanky man lifts a finger to scratch his chin. "Buhara's right... What should we do, Chairman?" All eyes were on the Chairman who sweated nervously. True, he has come across a possessed Nen-user, but that was only one demon possessing them. The girl chained up against the wall had more than a hundred.

" _ **Haha haha**_ _ **,**_ _ **he he he**_ _ **, why fight the inevitable, Mr.**_ _ **Netero**_ _ **?**_ " Their attention turned back to the girl who craned her neck to look up at the bloody ceiling. " _ **Isn't the answer obvious?**_ " She smiled, showing teeth colored red. " _ **Kill the**_ _ **girl~**_ _ **! Kill kill kill her! KILL ME!!!**_ _ **HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA**_ _ **!!!**_ " Menchi and the others knew what that girl said was right. They could just kill her.

So why won't Chairman Netero agree to it?

This question pondered in their minds and it was answered when the chairman opened his mouth.

"If we kill you, we would be unleashing a monster no one can stop." All eyes, except the chairman and the girl, went wide.

The girl snickered. " _ **Correcto**_ _ **~**_ _ **! So so smart of you, Mr.**_ _ **Netero**_ _ **! If you do that, then we won't be held back anymore! Everyone will become a vessel and everyone will die. Only one can stop me though...only one left...just need to...**_ " She whispered her last words before relaxing against her restraints. She hummed a familiar creepy tune before her eyes closed.

The deadly aura that occupied the room finally vanished and her bones popped back into place as the girl lost consciousness.

Thinking it was over, they turned to leave the room.

"Huh...? Where am I?" At the sound of her voice, their heads snapped back to the girl chained on the wall. Instead of seeing those pitch black orbs, her eyes returned to their dark brown color. She tilted her head at them, squinting her eyes. "Th-The examiners and ch-chairman?" She tried to move her arms but noticed that she was being chained. She did not panic. She knew why she was there. She saw the blood, vomit, and the corpse.

"Ah." Menchi felt anger boil in her stomach at the girl's nonchalant grunt.

She took a step forward. "That's all you are going to say?! You killed more than 10 people!" Irritation flashed in the girl's eyes and she growled.

"Hey, knotted lady. Get this in your head. I. Did. Not. Kill. Them. The shadows did." She shrugged her shoulders. "Hn, its not like you'll believe me anyway. Like all those idiots."

Menchi's eye twitched. "Why you little-" Chairman Netero stopped her with a lift of his arm.

"You...what's your name?" The girl lifted her head to look at the old man, eye to eye.

"Maria. Maria Jayson." The chairman gave a cheeky grin which worried the examiners with him.

"Do you want to be able to control those shadows, Maria?" Maria's ears perked from hearing this and she frowned, slowly nodding.

"That's good. Welcome to the Hunter Association, Maria Jayson..." Loud gasps echoed throughout the room while Maria's eyes widened.

"...let's begin your training, shall we?"

~somewhere~

At the stillness of the night, a small, short man stood on a ship, which was tied to a port, as he looked down at his reflection at the calm ocean. With the help of the bright full moon shining down on the ocean, he was able to see his reflection. Slanted, sharp silver eyes stared back at him with blood splattered on his face. His medium length, middle parted black hair swished along with the calm wind. Half of his face was covered by his extended collar, covering the blood.

"Oi, Feitan, you're done with your job right?" The short man known as Feitan grunted in response. The one who called him was a fairly tall and muscular man. He has short blonde hair that is combed back, away from the forehead, and sharp black eyes with no eyebrows. The man had his phone out and he sighed after looking down at it.

"Right after we finish one he gives us another." Feitan looked at him.

"What is it, Phinks?" Phinks's next words made the wind blow against Feitan harshly.

"To kill some girl named Maria." _Maybe another Maria... It can't be. Why would boss-?_ Feitan's thoughts were cut off by a loud beeping sound. It came from the phone the tall man was holding. Phinks grunted before showing turning the phone for Feitan to see. His eyes widened in disbelief.

It was newspaper from a couple of days ago, right before the Hunter Exam finished. It showed an old man alongside a smiling girl.

**HUNTER ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN ADOPTS ORPHAN**

...were the bold printed words at the top. But Feitan did not care whatever the news was about, his eyes remained fixated on the smiling girl. From the last he saw her, her hair and clothes was always in a mess and there was always dry blood still stuck on her face. Now, her black hair was tie up in a neat high pony tail and she wore a formal dress. The only thing that stayed the same were her eyes...they remained dull and empty.

 _Why..._ His heart pained at the sight of her smiling face.

"Oi, Fei-"

"I heard you. This..." A large lump formed in his throat and he struggled to say the next words. "...is our next target." He looked up at his comrade. "Did the boss say why?" Phinks casted a suspicious glance at Feitan.

"No, he just said to kill her." _You never question Boss's orders before..._ Phinks wanted to say but bit his tongue to keep his mouth shut.

Feitan looked away from the phone and back to the ocean. His hair flowed covering his eyes. "I see." It was rare to see the short man sad, even more rare to see his face showing hurt. Phinks looked at the photo again and frowned. Even though the tall man thought deeply, he was never able to understand why his partner looked hurt. So he dropped it off with a shrug of his shoulders.

"So, Fei, when should we-"

"I'll take care of this myself..." His quiet mutter made Phinks's eyes widen. Feitan turned around and walked past the tall man's frozen form. "I'll begin tomorrow. I'll not be seeing until the designated date, Phinks. Bye." With those words, the short man disappeared with a flash.

Phinks could only stand there, dumbfounded, before yelling, "OI, WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU-! AAGH!"

His words fell through deaf ears and Phinks dejectedly sighed, his shoulders drooping.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Feitan felt every fiber of his being burn cold at the thought of his boss's order. He drew in a shaky breath as he stood, hidden, inside a dark alley. He was far away from the port, but still hid his presence, never letting his guard down. Right now, he felt confused. Confused of his feelings and of his wavering will.

Only one thought though pasted itself firmly in his mind.

Why did his boss order the death of his own daughter?

His slender fingers ran through his hair as he banged his head on the brick wall. He did not know what to feel, but he painfully knew what he had to do.

He is a Phantom Troupe member and his boss's words are always a written order that none of the Troupe members would disobey.

_Even if it means destroying these feelings I have for you..._

_Maria, I will kill you._

"I...will kill you." He whispered under the dead of night. He closed his eyes and brought his clenched fist up to his hurting chest.

~somwhere~

Maria felt a sudden hurt in her chest and immediately gasped as a leg connected with her abdomen.

"Mouu, Maria, what did I say about dropping down your guard?" Chairman Netero sighed at the girl kneeling on the ground. They were currently in a training center and by the look at the clock, it was well over 3 am.

"S-Sorry... I just felt something weird in my chest." The old man's brow rose at this.

"Weird?"

"Err... Yea, its like my heart is being torn into tiny pieces."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is Children of the Night by Duo Cartoonist. I heard it from a fan-made film in Youtube.

Maria's POV

Its been a week since I became a Pro Hunter. Nothing much happened except the usual training and maybe the death of a few workers whenever the shadows break loose. Eh. During those days, I was still unable to control them and they seem to get more aggressive each time I did so. Their screams would escalate to higher octaves that made my mind hurt and my ears bleed. Literally. Weirdly, I felt the unfairness of how easily I got in...just because of the shadows. It was also weird, especially creepy, that I thanked them. Sarcastically, but still I thanked them.

This happened a few days ago in an infirmary after the chairman gave me a hard kick on the stomach...

 _"_ _Uhh_ _...thanks for possessing me and killing over ten people so I can get in the Hunter Association. Yea! Thanks for making me an enemy of a Gourmet Hunter and letting me train under this strong, creepy old m_ _an who also freaking adopted me! YEP, REALLY THANKS!" Sarcasm drenched each and every word that left my mouth while I tenderly placed an ice bag on the bruise forming on my abdomen. The ice biting cold numbed the pain a little, but didn't stop the shadows from trying to take over._ **_A_** _n_ ** _N_** _o_ ** _Y_** _i_ ** _N_** _g_ ** _,_** _s_ ** _O_** _f_ ** _R_** _e_ ** _A_** _k_ ** _I_** _n_ ** _G_** _a_ ** _N_** _n_ ** _O_** _y_ ** _I_** _n_ ** _G_** _. I could feel the darkness already clouding my mind and my sight as I silently seethe with murderous thoughts for the old man._

 _"_ _Uhhmm_... _miss, are you alright?" The guard sounded worried as he looked over at me_ _by the door._

 _"GREAT! LIFE IS SO FREAKING AWESOME RIGHT NOW!_ ** _LEAVE ME ALONE!_** _"_ _I snapped and..._

Okay, maybe letting my emotions get out of control and almost killing that poor guard for just looking out for me was a tad bit too much. A lot of too much. He was the third one to get injured by yours truly. By the way, he is doing fine; he is currently in the hospital, resting, after suffering suffocation and a few broken bones. Hurting, nonetheless fine and thankfully, alive.

I blame myself for the most part. My hands shook at the thought and I clenched them to stop the shaking. It didn't help. I really hate myself for being unable to control them...to keep them under a leash. So many deaths were done with these hands of mine and I had no remorse for them or those families suffering. I only felt the disgust pool in my stomach for having no feelings at all. I was being selfish, feeling as if everything wasn't my fault but the shadows. Blaming the shadows for all those deaths did little to reassure me or what was left of my sanity. Seeing them laugh, mock, and leer at me  worsen my condition and that makes it easier for them to take control. The hardest part was that no one but me could see them, and with plenty of people walking around a huge building, the stress was piling up.

And training Nen wasn't really helpful. When I get stronger, the become twice as much. Stopping them from taking over is getting so hard; they find ways to make me weak so they can come out.

Whenever those Pro Hunters, especially those watching over me, would ask how I was doing...if the shadows are still bothering me to the point that I want to die...I would just give them a forced smile and lie all the same, "Yea, I'm fine. I think I'm getting there." They probably saw through me. Even the chairman is starting to lose faith in me, I could see it in his eyes. With that thought in mind, the shadows tried to push through again but I stopped them. Its starting to hurt my head. Ugh.

 _ **Let us take**_ _ **control~**_ _ **we'll soothe that pain of yours...**_ The terrifying voice hissed softly into my ear and my eyes began to doze off when a woman's voice began singing.

 

_Come little children, I'll take thee away_

 

_Into the land of enchantment_

Mother's voice resounded in my ears like a quiet melody. Tears sprang up in the corner of my ears at the remembrance of my family. My fists once again clenched tightly as that man's face appeared in my thoughts again.

 

_Come little children, the time's come to play_

 

_Here in_ _my garden of shadows..._

... The shadows started to push into the dim light and the darkness began to obscure my vision. Right now, I didn't feel like fighting them off...

Before my eyes could close, a loud clicking sound from across of the room snapped them back open. The metallic door opened with a loud creak and a small, stout man with green colored skin wearing a formal suit came in. He looked like a bean. A huge bean with eyes and a mouth.

"Miss Maria, the chairman is calling for you." The bean dude, whom I still have no idea whose name is, peeked into my room and I gave him a nod while I rubbed my face to wipe away the tears.

My room is exactly fit for a demon possessed human being, like, for example, me. My bed was good for one person, only simple with two pillows (one for my head and another for my legs) and a blanket, and was pressed against the corner of the room. Chains were stuck onto the wall to tie me up when its time for me to sleep. There was also an empty desk - save for the open journal with a pen on top of it - , a dresser with a small mirror, and a door that lead to the bathroom. The bathroom wasn't anything special...okay I lied. It has a huge bathtub, a separate shower, and the other necessities needed for a bathroom. A bunch of crosses were nailed above the doors and there were no windows. The only thing that I actually wanted was a shelf filled with ancient and fiction books to pass the time when I didn't have any training. And since I wasn't allowed any electronic device of any sort, there was no television, even a small one, or a radio.

I jumped off my bed and the bean dude opened the door fully for me showing a red carpeted hallway with off white walls that had a bunch of portraits I paid no mind to. I already changed earlier into a red, turtle necked sweater, black pants, and white with red lines rubber shoes. My hair was tied up to a messy bun and make up was a big no-no for me. I wanted to show the world how depressed and exhausted I looked. And, of course, I had no idea how to put on those...paint stuff.

The door closed behind me with a loud click and I followed the bean dude to my 'father''s office.

"What does Netero want,..err..?" The bean smiled at me and replied, "The chairman has some delightful news for you and my name is Beans, Miss Maria. I hope you remember it next time." ...his looks and his name isn't even worth mentioning.

Delightful huh? I mused. I wonder, will they finally put an end to my misery and kick me out of this hell hole?

The trip there didn't take long and we walked into a spacious room. There were only two desks: one big which was placed near the huge office windows that showed the full view of buildings outside and the other was small, which was placed near the double doors. There was also a huge portrait that had one word written on it: heart. Even though I've gone here tons of times, I still had no idea what that meant. My eyes landed on the old man who was facing the window and looking at the view. The sun was setting already showing a wonderful orange set with a mixture of purple, blue, and pink. I would have wanted to watch such a view, but with these feelings weighing heavily in me, I'd rather not.

"What do you want, Chairman Netero? Will you finally kick me out after knowing how hopeless I actually am? Its just been a week... I'm sure you regret letting me get a license so easily." I voiced out my thoughts with a big sigh. His head tilted and he gave me a small smile while he touched the end of his beard with his right hand.

"No, no, Maria. You've done a job well done for the past week." My brow rose at his confusing words. How is losing my mind and killing who knows how many people 'a job well done'?! He continued, "I called you here for a reward."

"A reward?" He nodded.

"Yes...tonight, you can roam around the streets freely." My eyes widened in disbelief. Wait, no, impossible. No guards or any Hunter to watch over me? Won't **they** take advantage of this?! What the heck is that old man thinking?!?!?!

Netero must have noticed my confusion and distress since he lets out a soft snicker. "That's right. You are free to roam around for the remainder of the night. So, shoo shoo now and have your fun."

My eye twitched.

"WHAT- NO, YOU CAN'T LET ME-!!!" I was unable to voice out my complaints when suddenly two men wearing suits barged in through the double doors and grabbed my arms, one on each side.

"Take her out and bring her back at exactly 10 pm." Netero ordered seriously.

"OLD MAN, ARE YOU INSANE?!?!"

"Have fun, Maria~!" With that, I was dragged out of the building and thrown on the streets.

Third Person POV

It took no more than a day for Feitan to arrive at his destination, Swaldini City, also known to be a sprawling metropolis where the Hunter Association is located. It was well over six in the evening when he entered the busy city. The short man did not care if he were spotted by a Bounty Hunter... No one who saw his face ever lived to tell the tale. The sun had already set when he walked through the bustling streets. The first thing he needed to do was steal a place to stay for the night.

Hey, he is a thief. If he wants something, he takes i-

"I'LL KILL THAT OLD MAN IF ITS THE LAST THING I'LL DO! WHEN I GET BACK IN THERE, YOU'LL REGRET EVER LETTING ME OUT WITHOUT A SINGLE, FREAKING GUARD! YOU HEAR ME?!?!" Feitan felt his heart come to a complete stop at the familiar voice yelling at the top of her lungs. His eyes flickered over to a bridge and for a moment, he forgot to breathe.

 _Screaming at my problems did help._ Thought Maria as she leaned against the railings of the bridge. She felt the stares of people lingering on her back and heard the floating whispers in the air, but she paid no heed to it. Instead, she slumped her shoulders and stared at her dark reflection on the calm waters. With only the night lights as her guide, she could only see little of herself. If you could even call it that...

What stared back at her was indeed Maria, but her eyes were pitch black and her skin sickly pale with green veins clearly visible. There was also a dark black aura emitting from the reflection.

" ** _It'll be easier for both of us if you just let me...US...take over..._** " The terrifying voice whispered like a soothing medicine down her throat and she sighed.

"Well, yea. But then again, I don't really trust you and you'll kill all of these innocent bystanders walking past me." She replied with another big sigh.

"Mommy, that lady is talking to herself!" Her head dropped to avoid further embarrassment.

"Dear, let's just ignore her and go, okay?" _I feel like an idiot right now..._ Maria's head turned to the side to watch the woman pull her daughter along, far far away from her. Her dark brown eyes lingered at the huge, dark negative aura clinging itself on the small child who stared back with wide, curious green eyes.

" ** _Innocent? You know how wrong you are with those words, Maria... Or should I call you_** ** _Meriya_** ** _?_** " Said girl turned back to face her reflection again with a confused look.

"Meriya...?" Somehow that name felt familiar, but she had no memory of any sort regarding it. Her reflection chuckled darkly and tilted its head all the way down, twisting it painfully. Maria could hear the loud popping sound of the bone snapping.

" ** _I'll tell you if you let me..._** " The 15 year old flinched when the voice began to screech painfully. Her reflection looked in pain; its pitch black eyes widening in horror and its mouth open wide as it screamed. A loud, ear piercing moan buzzed her brain and every fiber of her being. Her ears rang at the continued screaming and she squinted her eyes to soothe the pain. That's when she noticed a young man leaning on the rails beside her. He was devilishly handsome with his medium length black hair flowing along the night breeze and his pale skin vibrant against the darkness of the night. The lower half of his face was covered by the raised, dark purple collar of his robe which had a skull and crossbones as its logo. Her hand touched her head as the scream became even more pronounced the longer she stared at him.

 _Why does he look so familiar?_ She thought, squinting her eyes at him which made the screams even louder than it was possible.

When his eyes flickered at her, Maria quickly looked away feeling the heat rush up to her face at the thought of being caught.

Where did she see that kind of silver eyes again...? 

Feitan did not know what to say. Staring at her in the sidelines was enough to reassure him that during his absence that she was safe. That she wasn't broken just yet. A small smile made its way on his face as he saw the light peach color of her cheeks. _Embarrassed._ He presumed. Did she remember him like he did of her? Those times when they were young? That time when they visited her home? Feitan did not want to stop staring at her. It had just been a week since he last saw her and yet, it felt like years. Her slightly tanned skin illuminated perfectly with the dim lights of the city, making her dark brown eyes shine bright. Some of her hair that wasn't tied fell messily onto her face and on her peach colored cheeks. The crushing pain in his chest and never-ending worry for her was terribly irritating, but as long as it was her, he was fine dealing with it.

He could wait. He always did.

 _ **NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO**_ _ **!**_ **_GOAWAYLEAVEUSALONEI'VE_** ** _WORKEDTOOHARDFORTHIS_** ** _!!!_** Maria pressed her finger inside her ear, hoping that it'd lower down the screaming. Sadly, it didn't. The voice was speaking too fast for her to understand what it was talking about. It was like that time with Hisoka...it was as if the shadows were actually scared of this person leaning on the railing beside her. She looked at him again and her face burned even brighter when their eyes locked.

How long has he been staring?

A smirk formed on Feitan's lips at Maria's pinkish red face. "Your face is pink." He remembered her exact words ten years ago. His words made her face darken into a bright shade of red. "And now its red."

"Hey! It's not my fault! How long have you been staring, huh?!" Maria shouldn't have started yelling. She couldn't help it though; for some reason, she felt extremely shy and embarrassed around this handsome stranger she has never seen before. AND WHY THE HECK DID SHE CALL HIM HANDSOME?!

Feitan chuckled at her glare and tilted his head, which made his hair flow along with the movement. "I don't feel like telling." Amusement flickered in his eyes and a large pang of realization pierced through Maria like lightning.

She knew where she saw him.

"You..." Feitan felt his hands clam nervously at the thought of her knowing. He knew just how terrified she is of the boss and her constant nightmares regarding him. He was always watching her struggle in her sleep, fighting against those shadows, but he couldn't help her. He could only stare.

"You're that guy from when I was seven!" Maria snapped her fingers with a wide grin spreading across her face. A faint sigh of relief escaped Feitan's mouth at her sure proclamation. Thanks to his raised collar, she did not see him sigh.

"You're still the same child I saw eight years ago." Feitan mused and Maria nodded enthusiastically. Why the heck is she so freaking happy? They just freaking met. Wait, did he just call her a child and she even nodded like a freaking seal?

Maria glared at him. "Hey, I'm four- I mean, I just turned fifteen! I'm no longer a kid."

"You sure are acting like one." Maria pouts and looks back again at her reflection. Her eyes blinked when she saw herself staring back at her. _Huh? Where did they go?_ The screaming voice in her head also disappeared and she felt at ease knowing she wouldn't hurt the guy close beside her.

"Oh yea..." She whispered in realization. She had freedom to roam as she pleased for the next 3 hours and 45 minutes. And with the shadows gone, she didn't need to worry about them killing anyone. She leaned away the railing to leave.

"...!" Again, she realized that she was going to leave the guy whom she thought as a soon-to-be close companion and future friend (if she was able to keep him alive that is).

Feitan watched as Maria internally battled her thoughts and another faint smile made its way on his face.

 _"Right after we finish one he gives us another... To kill some girl named Maria."_ Phinks's words echoed in his mind like a boom of thunder and a pang of hurt pierced his usually ruthless heart when he remembered the reason why he was there. The smile disappeared from his face and a frown took its place as he glared at his trembling hands.  
 _I have to kill her._ He straightened his fingers to a sharp point encasing it in white aura. _Kill her._ Repeatedly chanting those words did nothing to help ease the fear and hesitation building in his chest.

He was hesitating.

 _Boss's orders are absolute. No one has ever broken it..._ He tried to reassure himself. _I am his right hand man. I will, no doubt, obey him. No one ever disobeyed. I will not be the first to do so._

With lightning speed, he shot forth his hand aiming for her neck.

"Hey, wanna hang out with me?" His hand froze just before it connected with her neck, barely touching the skin. Her eyes, which sparkled like those of an innocent child, stopped Feitan's train of thought and the aura around his hand disappeared. Why hadn't she noticed his killing intent? Why isn't she scared? Instead of questioning why his hand was ready to cut her head off, she grasped it with her own sending refreshing tingles across his skin. For a brief moment, her touch made him forget the reason why he was there. The small smile on her face sent his heart sky rocketing just like when they were young playing around under the cloudy sky amongst the trashy environment.

 _"Now I have you."_ Her words chanted magically in his mind like a wondrous melody.

Subconsciously, Feitan moved his head up and down. His nod made her smile widen to a gleeful grin.

How long had it been since she actually felt happy? Why did she feel so comfortable and safe in this stranger's presence?

Maria didn't care about those fleeting thoughts and tugged his hand, which was still held tightly in hers, and pulled him along.

Feitan willingly let himself get dragged along.

 _I'll indulge myself just a little then I'll kill her._ With that promising thought in mind, he finally moved his feet along to her pace and followed to wherever she wanted to him to go.

He will kill her, but just not now. He'll do it later.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

_**Author: Yes, that's the end of the chapter.** _ **_Thank you for reading! Please leave a..._ ** **_pffftt_ ** **_..._ **

 

_**Haha** _

 

_**haha** _

 

_**haha** _

 

_**haha** _

 

_**he** _

 

_**Fufufu** _

 

_**Just kidding. I'm just trolling you guys.** _

 

_**Continue on your way.** _

 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Forty five minutes have passed since Chairman Netero kicked Maria out of the Hunter Association Building. Currently, he was drinking a relaxing cup of tea at the center of his spacious office with a fretting Mr. Beans who kept constantly eyeing the telephones on both their desks. The city lights provided a wonderful view for the two with the twinkling of various colors in the semi-darkness of the night. But Mr. Beans could not enjoy it, he was too worried and the chairman was simply drinking tea at such a time.

Netero sipped the chamomile drink before sighing, "Stop worrying over that young girl. She's doing fine." Mr. Beans incredulously stared wide-eyed at his boss.

"Fine?! You didn't send even one Hunter to watch over her! Maria has no control over her demons and maybe right now, she is on a killing spree!" Netero took another sip. "Don't forget that you'll be the one in trouble! You are legally her father and guardian; not only that, the media will be after our heads when it is found out that you gave her a Hunter license so easily!" And Netero continued sipping and remained nonchalant about the situation as a whole.

"I told you, she-" Netero began but was cut off by a telephone ringing on Mr. Beans's desk.

*BRRRIINNNNGGGGG*

*swoosh!*

The cups fell over and a big gust of wind blew against Mr. Beans as Chairman Netero jumped for the ringing telephone on his secretary's desk. He grasped it in his hand, quickly placing it against his ear then pressing the answer button.

 _So he was worried._ Mr. Beans thought with a shake of his head. 

"Th-This is the Chairman of the Hunter Association speaking." Netero bit his finger nervously, waiting for the person to speak. Regret bubbled in his stomach and he felt worried sick for that girl.

" _Chairman_ _Netero_ _?_ " Said man's eyes widened at Maria's voice. " _Well, whatever. I'm just here to tell you that I haven't lost control yet_ _and-_ "

" _Hurry up if you don't want to miss the movie._ " Who was...

" _I'm coming,_ _Fei_ _! What was I saying?... Oh yea, and no one is dead. As you've heard, my friend and I are going to watch a movie! Bye!_ " Before Netero could even say anything, the other end clicked and a beeping sounded signifying that the call ended.

Mr. Beans tilted his head at the frozen chairman who was still on his desk lying flat on his stomach and the phone pressed against his ear. "Who was that, Chairman Netero?"

The chairman placed the phone back to its place before answering, confusion lacing his voice, "Its Maria..." He paused, unsure of the words coming next. "It seems like she's on a date."

Mr. Beans smiled with a nod. "That's good, she must be..." He choked as well as coughed and his eyes widened in disbelief, matching Netero's own ones. "...A DATE?!?!"

"Err...yes, under the span of less than an hour, she was able to make a friend whom she can trust and now they are watching a movie." Explained Netero while he pushed himself off of the desk and landed back on his feet on the floor.

Mr. Beans just stared. "I see..." He turned to the fallen cups and put it back upright then, with a clean rug, wiped off of the spilt tea. "Maria has been with us for a week and yet her heart is still closed off. I wonder who this friend of hers is and what kind of person they are to be able to make someone like her trust them..."

*two hours later*

"Why the hell did you choose that crappy movie?" Feitan flicked his finger hard on Maria's forehead who winced in pain after they walked out of the cinemas.

"Hey! You said and I quote, 'It's fine. It seems like a decent movie. Let's go and watch it.'" The black haired huffed while rubbing the sore spot which was turning a bright pink.

Feitan clicked his tongue. "Why did we have to pay for the tickets anyway?" He could have just stolen them. After all, he is a thief.

"How are we supposed to watch them if we didn't pay, Fei?" Maria furrowed her brows at him. "You should know that."

Oh, right. She doesn't know that he is a thief. That's why he wasted ten thousand jenny for both the tickets and the food. It turns out that Maria had been kicked out without any money and the short man had no choice but to pay for her. Feitan casted a glare at the teenager who returned it with a cheeky grin.

"Awww, don't be like that~ you know you love me." The words left her mouth before Maria could even process what she said. After saying it, she became a frozen statue and her face flushed hot in silent realization. Quickly, she tried to cover up her mistake, "I-I mean-! The words just-!" She flailed her arms around in frustration.

Feitan chuckled at her futile attempt to explain. "Tsk, tsk, Maria. Remember that we talk in full sentences, but I know I take the breath away of many." _Literally._ The short man mused reminiscing all those he killed. Those were good memories.

The embarrassment faded from Maria's face, which was then replaced by a dumbstruck expression. "How would a short, mean guy like you take their breath away?"

Feitan closed his eyes with a sigh then flicked his fingers even harder on her bruising forehead.

"OWW! SEE MY POINT, YOU ARE SO MEA-!" He did it again.

"Say anything more and that won't just be a bruise." Feitan spoke in a low, threatening voice and lifted his fingers for her to prove his point. She immediately nodded, wincing at the pain from where he hit her.

Feitan smiled at her pouted face and placed his hand on her head, softly patting her. Warmth spread across the area he touched and the heat once more rose up to her face.

Maria looked up at him as confusion swirled in her dark brown orbs. "Why did you pat my head..?"  
The short man continued smiling. "Oh, I was just casting a spell to keep you from growing." He snickered evilly then patted her head roughly.

Finally having enough of his bullying, Maria punched him hard then walked away with her head held up high.

If it was another person, Feitan would have tortured them ruthlessly even if they'd beg for mercy. He will make them regret ever hitting him. Maria was a different case though. Even as his shoulder pulsed slightly in pain (considering her short and thin build, she sure packed a punch), he watched her with silent adoration and found the girl adorable with her flushed cheeks pouting from annoyance.

Maria could not understand why this bully behind her, whom she met only two hours ago, became such an important figure in her life. His significance equaled her love for her dead family and for the first time in years, he made her feel happy to be alive. Right now, she wasn't the girl possessed by demons who has to constantly live in fear; she was finally a normal girl who is hanging out comfortably and openly outside with a friend.

Looking back at Feitan, her heart filled with warmth and gladness and an unknown feeling she described as love. The blush spread across her cheeks as she struggled to keep herself from grinning stupidly.  
 ** _Blood. Strung up. Dead. Murdered._** Memories from her dreaded past resurfaced and her face paled, still looking at her friend.

Feitan saw her eyes glaze over, just like many times before. He knew that her memories were being brought up again from deep depths of her mind. He frowned as she began tremble, her mouth mumbled silent words, and sweat slid down her forehead. _How can I..._ That thought passed his mind like many times before. Now is different. She wasn't having nightmares and she knew him.

He won't just stare while she is suffering. Not like before.

Warm, slender arms wrapped around Maria's waist and a soft breath tickled her ear.

"Oi, are you okay...?" Chills ran down her spine as his husky voice whispered soothingly. Maria gave a small smile as her cheeks became ablaze and her heart thumped loudly against her ribcage.

"Hmm... With a shortie like you hugging me, I'm not s-" And the image of a kind Feitan disappeared when he flicked her sore spot.

"I WAS KIDDING!"

"Don't call me a shortie when you yourself are one." Maria pouted and rubbed her forehead in pain. A chuckle escaped his throat as he watched her then he felt his phone vibrate against his thigh. He froze and slowly took his phone out from his pocket.

_Are you done?_

It was a text from Phinks. His fingers almost crushed the device in his hand. His eyes flickered to Maria who stared back at him, her eyes sparkling with joy. He looked down at his phone then typed his reply.

_Not yet. I'm still looking for her._

"What was that?" Asked Maria while Feitan put away his phone.

He shrugged. "It was just an ad from some company." He looked over at her.

"So where to next?"


	10. Chapter 10

Maria's POV

Last night's events were all I could think about. I couldn't help it; my first friend ever and the shadows would never bother him. As his face appeared in my mind like a clear image with his ever so charming smile (I was exaggerating and I might have imagined flowers appearing in the background), the heat rushed up to my cheeks like an ablaze inferno and my heart thumped erratically like a continuous boom of thunder against my ribcage. I could just die from hearing him talk. Not literally, but you know what I mean.

True to his word, the guards, who Netero ordered to throw me out, came to pick me up at ten o'clock on the dot and I had no choice but to bid farewell to my new friend. Of course, we exchanged contact numbers to keep in touch and maybe I internally squealed while I held that piece of paper which had his number close to my heart.

"...ria..."

It seems like Feitan was only staying in Swaldini for a month because he has urgent business to attend to on September 1. Yeah, it made me really sad knowing it. Something about his boss ordering all 12 of his employees, including Feitan, to gather. I tried to ask about his work and all he said was that they collected expensive stuff then sold them in a bidding auction. No wonder he has so much money.

"...aria..."

Which was kinda weird. I figured that he was a bandit or a thief or something along those lines with the way he dressed and how he looked, but a collector of all things? I was filled with disbelief after he said that. Not only that, the way he glared at the cashier guy when I bought snacks for the movie was deadly. If glares could kill, that poor cashier guy, whose name is Marti, would already be dead. How does a collector like him have such a frightening glare?

And I wonder why Feitan was glaring at him though... All Marti did was try to ask her phone number-

"MARIA JAYSON NETERO, ARE YOU LISTENING?!"

At the utterance of my name, I immediately jumped from my seat and with a voice filled with confidence, I yelled, "THE ANSWER IS SIX!" Mr. Lorenzo, a Hunter exorcist/tutor, stared at me blankly.

Ricardo Lorenzo is 45-years-old and has been part of the Hunter Association for the past 10 years. Right now, he has three stars for having exorcised a great deal of dangerous, Nen-possessing demons during his work as a Hunter. Mr. Lorenzo has greyish eyes as well as grey hair and beard even though he is still quite young. He stands at a height of 190 cm centimeters, which is I think 6'0. His clothes are those of a priest, plus the cross necklace hanging around his neck. He is my fifth tutor for the past week.

"T-The answer is six because there are six types of Nen-users...?" I stated unsurely with a nervous smile. The anger and irritation in his eyes disappeared as he stared at me in the eye and then scratched his chin with his right hand, as if contemplating what to say.

"Maria, have those de- I mean, shadows been bothering you?" Realization shot right through my brain and my brows shot up as soon as he said that. I almost forgot about the shadows! I wanted to hit myself for that, but didn't. I can't believe they really did not bother Feitan and I while we were together. Heck, they never even came out when I fell asleep, which was unusual and suspicious; still I felt relieved and confused. What happened to them and where had they gone?

I racked my mind as I searched for them, but there were no delirious voices annoying me and I didn't even see that large shadow that usually sticks to Mr. Lorenzo when he doesn't activate his Nen.

"N-No... Right now, they seem to be gone." I finally answered after a long pause. My tutor narrowed his grey eyes as he frowned. Then he started to make his way towards me. Like every other human being who understood how dangerous I was, he taught me the fundamentals of Nen and a few ways to subdue my emotions from running amok a hundred meters away from me, which is pretty reasonable to a degree. Ever since I knew how to use Nen, the shadows' distance of attack doubled so now they cover an area of 75 meters around me.

When he started to walk towards me, I stiffened and my hair stood on end as our distance slowly lessened. I could see the fear in his eyes and the hesitation with each step he took closer to me. This was a gamble we were daring to play; gamble that could take away a life.

Finally, he was right in front of me. My heart was beating loudly and I held my breath as I looked up at him. Our eyes met with silent fear and determination.

So, we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Three minutes passed, yet Mr. Lorenzo still stood before me, unharmed. My rapidly beating heart came to a complete halt at this sudden revelation. I didn't want to believe it; after suffering for so many years against these things that tormented me day after day, I just couldn't believe that the shadows were...

"..gone..." I whispered in disbelief. The shock finally came to me as my knees dropped to the ground. I should feel happy, ecstatic even, but I just felt empty. The shadows, my tormentors, were gone, but the heavy weight on my shoulders remained.

Mr. Lorenzo nodded stiffly. "Y-Yes, that would be it. But-" he turned around and let out a big sigh, "-we shouldn't keep our hopes up. There must be some meaning as to why those shadows suddenly vanished." My eyes flickered to the porcelain, tiled floor and my hands shook as I trembled. The blame, which I always threw at the shadows, made its impact in my heart and the guilt of those deaths slowly lurked into the deep crevice of my mind.

"What do you mean by that..?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer. I just needed a voice to distract me from the memories flashing vividly in my mind. The bloody, unforgiving, cold memories.

"Your body is still the same as before. The reason why you have an unlimited amount aura no matter how much you use it up is that your body absorbs the aura, which is leaked into the air. When I stood in front of you, I felt my aura being sucked away." My eyes met my tutor's once more as he continued, "you also get tired easily because of the aura you use up, specifically the shadows use up. Not only that, you said you could see them right? Sticking themselves to other people?" I already guessed that, but hearing it from someone other than me was quite reassuring.

I nodded. "Yeah, but right now, I don't see them... Not even on you." Mr. Lorenzo blinked as if shocked to hear this. The tone of his voice suddenly changed, which baffled my very being.

"There was a demon sticking itself on me?" His eyes, which was blank of emotion, burned with anger and disbelief. My throat tightened at his yell, but I slowly nodded. His large hands then gripped my collar and he easily lifted me up to the air. If it were not for my small body and large shirt, I would have chocked at his tightening grip.

"What did it look like?!" I didn't understand why the usually calm tutor of mine had become like this. Sweat dripping from his forehead, eyes blazing with insanity and disbelief, and mouth contorting to a feral snarl. It was quite scary how his attitude changed so fast. I looked into his eyes and saw fear. Of course, it was always fear that drove people to change.

At first, I found the situation frightening; now, I found it normal. My body relaxed as soon as I realized this. Of course, this happened so many times before. How could I ever forget?

"...a woman. Your shadow looked like a woman." I spoke simply while I tilted my head. I watched with half-lidded eyes as his lost its focus and his hands, which tightly held my shirt, trembled.

"No, no, no, no, no, that was long ago. Too long. Why didn't you tell me this?!"

That's when I knew my theory was correct. Even with the shadows gone, I could still lead people to their death.

His trembling hands finally let go and I dropped once more to the ground, and my knees hit the tiled floor with a loud thump. His breath was shaky and his whole body was trembling so much I thought he'd get a stroke.

"I-I-I d-di-didn't meant to, alright?! I didn't mean to do it!" Calm and calculating. That was who Mr. Lorenzo was. Who I thought he was. I barely believed that behind his blank eyes was a truth he tried so hard to cover up. I wanted to tell him that running away wouldn't help him, that he must face it head on. But I couldn't. It would mean I was being a hypocrite; I was always running away, even in the face my family's death, because I feared of the worst. I couldn't even promise myself to do it, why should he?

I remained sitting on the ground as Mr. Lorenzo broke down before me. Tears flooded out of his eyes as he knelt on the floor with his face down. I couldn't see the sanity, which he held so tight and firm, crack to pieces.

I frowned and sighed in huge disappointment. Ah, so sad. At least he survived for four days. The other four couldn't even live past a day without breaking down, especially when the shadows were there. Jeez, I really wanna go see Feitan. Being here sucks.

Third Person POV

Chairman Isaac Netero hummed as he absorbed this new information which Mr. Beans just gave him. "It's too bad... Search for another exorcist that can help Maria." Mr. Beans chuckled nervously.

"Chairman, that is a bit impossible right now.."

Chairman Netero's brow rose. "What do you mean?"

"The news about Maria has already reached to all Exorcist Hunters. No one wants to be hired anymore even with the amount of 1 million jenny, not with the cost of their sanity and their life." Mr. Beans explained with a disappointed and hurt look on his green face. His heart wanted to help the breaking girl in her room,but he wasn't an Exorcist Hunter. He didn't know how to help her. Chairman Netero placed his elbows on his desk as he thought deeply about the situation at hand. Only a week had passed yet they were still unable to help a fifteen year old control even one, single demon.

"Have you...found the documents of her past yet, Mr. Beans?" Asked Chairman Netero as he looked down at the important papers on his desk, which seemed unimportant right now.

Mr. Beans turned and hurried to his desk. He looked through the piles of papers scattered messily without a care and when he found what he was looking for, he returned to the chairman. "It was difficult to find out about her past since she wouldn't tell us anything except her name and age." Mr. Beans sighed as he placed a single piece of paper with bold printed words on Chairman Netero's desk above the supposed important papers. "I was only able to find a tiny bit, but I don't think it would help. It seemed as if someone had deleted all her documents, including her birth certificate." Chairman Netero picked it up and began to read the printed words.

**Name: Maria Jayson**

**Blood Type: O**

**Age: 15**

**Birth date** **: July 30,** **XXXX**

**Birth place:** **Ubec** **Metropolitan Hospital,** **Ubec** **City**

**Home Address:** **XUXBXEXerror** **...Meteor City**

Chairman Netero's brows furrowed together and he looked over the paper once again. Mr. Beans stood, patiently waiting for the chairman to speak.

After a few minutes, the chairman finally looks up at his secretary in confusion, "This can't be right."

Mr. Beans frowned. "What do you mean by that, Chairman?" The chairman said nothing and returned the paper to the green man. Mr. Beans scanned the paper in his hand and his eyes immediately widened in shock.

"Wait...when I printed this, Maria's home address was Ubec City, Nanupitak St. When did it change to Meteor City?" Chairman Netero didn't answer, instead he brought up his suspicions.

"This must be the reason why the Phantom Troupe are after her..." His quiet muttering reached Mr. Beans ears and the secretary dropped the paper in shock letting it flutter down to the tiled floor.

"Ph-Phantom Troupe?! I-I didn't hear about this!" The chairman looked up and locked eyes with the scared secretary.

"It was when those shadows took over her body while she was asleep, they spoke of a Spider trying to catch her and one of its legs, the 5th one, wanted to kill them..." Chairman Netero explained as the memory filmed back into his mind like so many times before.

_It was the third night since Maria Jayson came in and it seemed that she was becoming worse and worse each time they tried to teach her to control those shadows. Her deathly screams echoed throughout her enclosed room like a siren's_ _deafening_ _screech. After the death of two Exorcists and ten bodyguards, Chairman_ _Netero_ _finally took the initiative. Before it was only one or two workers, but within that day alone, she had already killed twelve. The old man stared, his eyes_ _half-lidded_ _, at the chained, teenage girl on the bed. The lights kept flickering on and off as if affected by her pained moans and spluttering groans. The chairman didn't want to do this, like he had before when she almost killed those two kids. He can still remember it so clearly when her eyes suddenly flashed black and she jumped for the_ _white-haired_ _boy, her sharpened fingers ready to sink into his pale flesh._

_He had to do it. He had to snap her neck again. It was the only way for the shadows to stop their killings. Even now, trapped within these walls, countless of his workers who couldn't use_ _Nen_ _to protect themselves were slowly losing their sanity._ When Maria is in pain,  _the chairman theorized,_ the shadows are able to whisper their darkness into anyone's ears within its territory.  _The whole building was its territory though. He knew that snapping her neck would not kill the living girl; it would only subdue the shadows. Whenever the shadows were hurt, even to the point of dying, they'd heal the body before returning it back to the sole owner._

They didn't want Maria to die. They needed her.

_This was just another theory of his, but he assumed that it was correct. He remembered that time when a Hunter made a mistake and shot a bullet infused with_ _Nen_ _at the possessed Maria. It pierced her straight through the skull and the bloody contents of her brain splashed behind her like a messy, red painting. Instead of falling on the ground like he expected, she cackled like it was nothing and the blood and brain matter dripped out of the bullet hole when she tilted her head. It was as if the shadows were mocking them that it was impossible to kill it. When the shadows left, the bullet hole had healed and, except for the blood splatter and brain matter splattered on the ground and objects nearby, there were no signs that she had been shot in the head._

_She miraculously healed, like a bullet in the head was nothing._

_The chairman, still standing nonchalantly, wondered how a shot in the head couldn't stop them, but a simple snap of the neck did._

_"_ **_You...you'll do it! Just like that time!_ ** _" The childish, girly, awkward, calm tone he was so used to had changed into a masculine, demonic one. The terrifying voice is what Maria called it._

_The chairman felt himself hesitate. Maria's dark brown eyes reminded him of the innocence and sparkle in_ _Gon's_ _. It broke his heart that her innocence was torn apart just because she had been possessed. She wasn't given a choice; she was forced to kill those she cared about as well as those innocent bystanders. Death happened so much in her short life time that she stopped feeling guilty. It was as if she was just moving forward without a guide or direction._

_The chairman sighed. "I will have to... To stop you from killing the people inside this building."_

_The thing snarled and tried to jump at the chairman, but the chains stopped it. "_ **_NO! I'LL KILL EVERYONE! EVERYONE! I NEED TO! I HAVE TO!_ ** _" The chairman frowned at its words._

_"What do you me you_ _'have_ _to'?" Instead of resisting or trying to trick him, it answered quickly in a_ _high-pitched_ _, panicked tone. The terrifying voice had changed into a squeaky, fearful tone._

_"_ **_The spider! The spider 's head is after her..._ ** **_neeeeeeed_ ** **_to get stronger. Stronger! We need to stop the leg from piercing her heart! Poison! Poison! He'll poison us! Take us away! KILL US! WE WORKED TOO HARD! TOO HARD FOR THIS! YEARS AND YEAR AND YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS! WE'VE BEEN TRAPPED TOO LONG!_ ** _" It screamed as well as sobbed and brought its knees to its chest. "_ **_The leg...the fifth leg will kill us...poison her mind and heart...must get stronger to..._ ** **_oooooooohhhhhhhhhhh_ ** **_..._ ** _" With a final, weakened moan, her body collapsed on the bed and the tense atmosphere that filled the room seconds ago vanished._

_The chairman lets out a sigh of relief. He didn't need to do it._ _His eyes flickered to the sleeping girl and he frowned as its words stayed stuck in his mind._

"...the spider's head is after her and the fifth leg will kill her and the shadows..." The chairman said again after recalling that event. Mr. Beans felt his mouth go dry at the explanation.

"That means..." The green man began, his voice laced with nervousness and fear. "...that either of them is here right now at this very moment." The two stared at each other in stunned silence.

*Swoosh! BAM!*

A gust of wind blew against Mr. Beans and the chair where the chairman had just sat spun around and around as the door, which slammed behind him, resounded in his ears. The green man soon followed after his boss after overcoming his shock.

Considering his height and his legs, Mr. Beans took a while to arrive at the place where he was sure that Chairman Netero had gone - Maria's room. After what he said earlier, the two knew that they had to warn Maria about the Phantom Troupe and Chairman Netero immediately made his move. But when Mr. Beans arrived at the familiar hallway he'd always pass to check on Maria, the door that was supposed to be close was cracked open. Literally, cracked open. It was as if the door was forcefully pushed.

The secretary feared the worst when he entered the desolate room. Everything remained the same - the desk, the bed, the crosses, everything - there was nothing out of place.

*crinkle* ( ** _A/n: Sorry, I have no idea what a paper being stepped on would sound like_** )

Mr. Beans looked down to see a crumpled piece of paper and he hesitantly picked it up.

"Oh, no..." He whispered as his hands clenched the paper tightly. He now understood why the chairman wasn't in the room. Mr. Beans dropped the paper and quickly left the room to call for Hunters.

_Dear Chairman,_

_Since I don't have any tutoring for the entire day and the shadows seem to have gone somewhere, I'll be having a day out with that friend I made yesterday! Don't worry I won't get into any trouble and I'll be back by dinner._

_\- Maria_

This was less worse than having Maria kidnapped, but with the Phantom Troupe lurking around, Mr. Beans still feared the worst. What worried him the most while he dialled for nearby 4-star Bounty Hunters to come quickly was that the friend Maria made was really a part of the infamous Phantom Troupe. He hoped it wasn't.

Too bad he was.

~with Maria and Feitan~

Maria stood by a random convenience store that she made no effort to know its name. Her phone was clutched in her hand while she waited for her friend to reply to her text. Okay, maybe she left the Hunter Association Building without actually making plans with Feitan. She was bored and didn't want to be alone at that moment. With the shadows gone, there was no one who could talk to her...the only person she really wanted to see was Feitan.

Feitan grumbled obscenities and other colorful words as he walked out of the small house that he had stolen after Maria left him the day before. It was already ten in the morning, but he was still tired. After what transpired last night, Feitan had a very hard time falling asleep without Maria's smiling and blushing face appear in his head. It took him several hours before he could even take a decent nap, but then he had to wake up again because of a rather unusual dream, which he didn't want to recall. He could feel the blood rush up to his face from the remembrance of it and he quickly shook his head to clear his mind from such thoughts.

His fingers rubbed his tired eyes as he walked towards the street where Maria said they would meet up. Feitan looked down at his phone and reread the text she sent.

Maria: Morning,  Fei ! I got nothing to do today so wanna hang out? I'm waiting on  Takuni  Street and am standing in front of a convenience store...it has a big, red building with the name  Saezuru  across of it. I'm pretty much lazy right now so I don't feel like looking at the name of the store. Text me back quick if you're busy so I can leave. See ya!

The short man could feel the corner of his lips slightly lift up before it fell back down as he pressed a few keys then shoved the phone back into his pocket.

*bzzzt*

The phone vibrated in her hand and Maria wasted no time to turn it on. Her mouth formed a wide grin and butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she read the message she received.

Feitan : I'm coming.

It was just two simple words, but for Maria, those words meant the whole world to her. Rereading the text made her want to squeal happily and roll around on the cemented sidewalk. People started to wonder what made Maria so happy as they stared at the blushing and grinning teenage girl. The same girl wondered what the two will do today.

While Maria pondered about this, the shadows that were supposedly gone returned. They couldn't let their vessel get destroyed. They've waited too long. Maria was perfect. She was needed. They couldn't. Couldn't. They couldn't lose her. They began to lurk back into Maria's mind and were ready to take control of her, but then she felt them.

The ecstatic beating of her heart slowed and her flushed cheeks paled as soon as she felt the familiar, cold darkness envelop her small being. The voices were starting to return with each hushed tone in her mind and she was starting to see the black blobs sticking itself on the people passing by her. Her body trembled as the darkness entered her sight.  _They were supposed to be gone... Why are they here?! Why now!_ She internally yelled while she hyperventilated.

"Little miss, are you alright?" A worker of the convenience store asked as soon as he saw the trembling girl. Instead of seeing the worker, she saw  **him.**  And so she screamed.

When a familiar, dark aura was emitted at a large range, Feitan felt the air leave his lungs. He knew that aura anywhere; he felt and saw it so many times before. His legs were running before he even noticed. Frightened screams blurred past him as he sprinted to where the aura was. His heart beat accelerated the closer he got and he could feel the strong force pushing against him.  _When did she get this strong?_ He thought as he activated his Nen so he could continue running towards where she was. He knew she hated it when those shadows would kill without prejudice and leave all the blame to her. His whole body felt cold at the thought of her losing it again. Feitan was scared.

He had to save her.

Maria clutched her head and her fingers dug deep into her scalp, which made it start to bleed. The tears flooded her eyes as she struggled to fight against the darkness that clouded her sight. Her black aura spread out like tentacles and grabbed anything alive within its reach. Severed parts of the dead bodies and blood, there was so much blood, surrounded her. It was a reminder that she wasn't normal, that she couldn't live the life she wanted. Maria just wanted to close her eyes and let the darkness take over so she couldn't see the corpses anymore. But she had to fight back. She was meeting Feitan. She couldn't let him see her like this. If he did...she feared that she would lose her only friend. With that thought, her aura expanded like an explosion of her troubled emotions.

"Maria, calm down!" Yelled Chairman Netero while he tried to close the distance between them but dodged when a black tentacle slashed at him. He could snap her neck, but she wasn't possessed. If he did so, he would kill her. Chairman Netero felt helpless as he stood there, unable to do anything.

" _ **Just give in already,**_ _ **Meriya**_ _ **! Like all those times before, just give in already!**_ " The terrifying voice screamed as it pulled Maria away from the dimming light. The darkness was starting to swallow her up and she was finding it hard to breathe.

" _ **You'll feel better when you wake up. You will.**_ _ **You will.**_ " Her mother's voice whispered the last two words and she felt her will collapse just from hearing it.

Before Maria could sink deep into the dark waters and let the darkness win, a hand reached out and grabbed onto her. Slender, long, warm fingers wrapped itself on her arm and pulled her towards the brightening light. The shadows screamed as they backed away from the light and from whoever owned that arm. Before she was pulled out, Maria heard the voice scream,

" _ **THIS ISN'T OVER! WE WILL BE BACK! I WILL RETURN!**_ "

Maria's eyes fluttered open and she winced at the bright light above. An arm picked her up from the cemented ground and her eyes met Chairman Netero's.

"Thank goodness you've calmed down." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around her small form. Maria didn't want to see the carnage and closed her eyes.

"Wh-What...where is Feitan...?" Her throat was dry and she had trouble speaking.

The chairman pulled back to look at her face. She was pale and her skin glistened from the sweat, but overall she was fine. "Maria, what are you talking about? There was no one here, except you and me." That's impossible, she wanted to say, but her mouth didn't seem to be working right now. She was sure though that Feitan was there. She knew those fingers that grabbed hold of her; she had felt those same fingers the day before. They were definitely Feitan's.

 _"Don't let them take over."_ A comforting, husky voice echoed in her mind and a locked door inside her clicked open.

That's why his silver eyes were so familiar.

All the memories that were locked in a chest came rushing out in a flash of black-and-white films.

Her closed eyes snapped open and her breath hitched in silent realization. She knew who he was. Where she first saw him.

She remembered everything.

Against the dirty, mossy wall of an alley nearby where the chairman and Maria were, a body laid on the dark, cemented ground with a trembling tremor. Drops of blood painted the sewage water red and the man struggled to breathe with each breath he took. His hand, stained in red, gripped his waist as he tried to stop the endless flow of blood. His other hand, the left one, held a ringing phone and he struggled to keep it pressed against his ear. When the familiar click sounded, a chilled, haunting, masculine voice answered on the other end of the line, "...who is this?"

"B-Boss, I-I found her..."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare to know the truth and be confused mwahahahahaha

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

A dark, desolate room  bare of any furniture with only a small lamp to light it up. With only that small amount of light, the hanged figure could barely be made out. Small droplets formed on the tip of the figure's feet and the dripping sound dragged on.

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

The continuous sound of water dripping in a distance did not affect the Man on the chair whose body faced the hanged figure. His eyes were closed in deep concentration, his fingers tapping along with the beat of the dripping, and finally he stirred. With his eyes still closed, the Man reached for the frame perched up pn the desk beside him. The tapping receded when he opened his eyes and he looked down at the pictured frame. It was an old, black-and-white rectangular picture, maybe 10-15 years. There were two people in it, but the woman's face had been cut out, torn to be most specific. Both wore wedding garments...the bride in a white, wedding dress and the groom in a black, formal suit. The groom had the most joyful smile on his face while looking at the camera. Their hands were entwined together. Although his finger traced the photo so thoughtfully and with care, his eyes were blank of any emotion and his smile was strained. The frame dropped from his hand and a breaking sound echoed.

*smash!*

The Man didn't even look at the fallen frame; instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo encased in a plastic bag. His fingers hesitated to turn the plastic over as his blank eyes slowly pooled with sadness.

*drip*

*drip...*

He let the plastic rest in the palm of his hand until the man finally got the courage to turn it over. His throat constricted, fought the tears from welling up in his eyes and forced himself to stare at the photo. It showed a young, dirty girl standing in the midst of trash and smoke with the biggest smile on her face. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with childish happiness even within such an environment and she even gave a peace sign like everything was fine. Unlike the last photo, the Man's body trembled. His fingers dug into the plastic, but stopped fearing that he would tear the picture. A ragged breath left his mouth and with one last look, the Man put away the photo back into his pocket.

*knock...knock*

The knock was subtle, quiet, barely heard, but within the room it was loud enough for the Man to hear. His fingers lowered down on the wooden armchair and tapped loudly two times. After being accepted to enter, the Woman came in. She ignored the pinkish color lining the white area of his eyes.

After staring at each other in a silent conversation, the Woman said, "Boss, #6 has located former #3's whereabouts." She could only see the Man's lower half of his body sitting on a wooden chair and noticed the broken picture frame in front of his feet.

The Man spoke, his voice alone lowered the already chilling, 18° temperature, "We must haste then. There is little time before HE will finally take over her body." The Woman nodded. "Also, tell #5 to bring in #3's replacement from these coordinates." The Man told the Woman the coordinates. With a quiet click of the door, the Man was left alone in his thoughts again.

*drip*

*drip..*

He should have told the Woman to get rid of the body, but the continual dripping soothed the Man's pain, if only a little.

 _"Its dormant now, I see..."_   _He hadn't meant for her to hear._ _His heart clenched at her pained face._

The Man pinched himself to wave off the memory, but it kept playing on.

_Fear clouded her eyes at his words. Maybe smiling at her shouldn't have been his first move. He was just so happy to see her after so long. The Man wanted to hug her, but felt her fear...the darkness radiating towards him._

_"If you have nothing else to say, please leave,"_ _s_ _he said. Each word pierced his heart and_ _his forced smile widened to hide his hurt._

_"_ _Of course, thank you for having us."  He answered while swallowing down his pain._

He didn't want to remember more, but the memories kept rushing back to the past.

_It had been two years since he last saw her. He missed two of her birthdays._

_After making sure that she was alone, he entered the vehicle. Once she saw him, she said, "Hi!" She was still the same like he last saw her...so bright and full of joy. He took off his cap to show his face. He hoped she'd remember, but she continued smiling._

_He replied to her greeting,_ _"hello, what's your name?"_ _He knew her name...each letter by heart. But he wanted to heart it from her mouth. The sound of her voice._

_"Maria. What are you blue people doing here?"_   _she answered which made his heart drop. That isn't her name. How could that woman do this to him...to change her name knowing fully well how much it meant to him. The Man noticed she thought that he was one of the blue people._

_He replied,_ _"something happened in your house and we're looking into it." It was thanks to that incident that he managed to find her...after two long years. He gave a wide smile at the thought._

_Maria tilted her head_ _. "What happened?"_   _The man chuckled. Was she joking? She was the one who told him about those shadows...and he believed her right then and there. How could she not know what happened? His laugh dried when he saw how confused she was._

_She didn't know. She forgot...like she did of him._

_The Man wanted to talk to her morez but then noticed two women walking towards the vehicle. He said,_ _"That's a story for another time." H_ _e didn't want to leave, but he had to. He couldn't afford that wretched woman knowing that he found them._

_He'll wait until there's an opening to strike._

The Man wanted to see the photo again, but stopped himself. If he didn't, he would have broken down. His heart wouldn't take it anymore...remembering the distant memories and seeing her happy face.

The Man can still remember like it was yesterday...about those shadows that clung onto his precious...

_"Shadows_ _. Mr. Griffin is one of them." The Man felt the air get knock out of his lungs at her words. "He keeps screaming though, it starts to hurt."_

_A moment of silence came between them. The Man couldn't say anything...his throat tightened each time he wanted to laugh. She couldn't be telling the truth; she was far too young to learn Nen. And why shadows? He understood that they lived in a horrendous environment, but his little girl was always happy. Yes, there were times she complained a lot, but that was only when she was hungry. And she was always hungry._

_"Well..." he said, "...tell Mr. Griffin to stop bothering you or Daddy will play with him again." The little girl on his shoulders immediately brightened at his words._

_She said, "if Mr. Griffin doesn't leave you alone, can I play as well?"_

_The Man laughed, a good hearty one, "yes, of course, my beautiful Miracle." The little girl groaned loudly._

_"Daddyyyy, stop calling me that! It's getting so...icky." The man laughed again._

_"I don't care. You'll always be Daddy's little, darling Miracle." The little girl pouts and places her chin on the top of his head._

_"Hmph, fine! But you can only keep calling me that if you bring me more food tomorrow after you work."_

_The Man smiled, "of course, but I don't want you to play in that playground anymore. You have to always be near Mommy, okay?" The little girl groaned again, but nodded._

The Man immediately shot up from the chair and a loud scraping sound echoed throughout the dimly, lit room. He was remembering too much. He had to stop before...

He sighed and stood up. He stepped on the frame without a care and kept walking. The hanged figure was nothing to him as he passed it. His hand gripped the cold, metallic knob of the door and paused his movements.

 _There's no turning back once I turn this knob. All those memories will be flushed down the drain when I do this._ The Man thought.

It was for her sake. He reasoned and finally opened the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeaaa, I know its short. But lets remember about what happened in this chapter and the previous chapters before that.
> 
> I'm sure you are like, "WHHAAATTT" or maybe its just me lol.
> 
> You are probably, most likely, confused and yes, the Man is definitely who you are thinking about. And also, I've decided not to use their real names, but their numbers to keep you guys guessing.
> 
> Nurufufufufu, I'm pretty evil, aren't I?
> 
> Don't even try to search the internet. Since there's only a selected few that has their numbers known like for example, Shalnark who is #6 (YES ITS HIM WHO FOUND THE #3) and Shizuku who is #8 and blah de blah de blah... I decided to number them (the ones whose numbers are still not known) myself.
> 
> This message is pretty long...and I'm blabbering.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Please tell me what you thought about it.
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> ~Star


	12. Chapter 12

Hell broke loose in the Hunter Association Building. Phones were ringing nonestop, the people were running amok trying to explain the incident, and the reporters were lingering outside the building.

All the while, Chairman Isaac Netero wondered deeply in his mind why he was suffering in this way. He did many idiotic things, but he was sure he finally did the right thing. So why was this person yelling at him so much?

"What were you thinking, Chairman?! Letting loose a possessed child into the city! And why did I just hear about the fact that you adopted her?! The media is going to have a fun time spreading the news to everyone! What do you have to say about this, huh?!?!"

Chairman Netero sank in his seat, hoping that it'd stop the woman glowering before him. They were currently in the chairman's office. He was glad that a desk protected him from the woman who was ready to bite his head off.

"Uh, well, you see, Cheadle..." He tried to explain then breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Beans barged in without a knock, which was quite unlike him.

The short, green man was sweating profusely from head to toe and he was out of breath. It took him a minute before he said, "C-Chairman, i-it's Maria..."

At that, the chairman shot up from his chair. All worry and nervousness from the glowering woman gone. He asked, fearful and nervous, "What's wrong with her? She's doing alright, right?" Mr. Beans looked down at his entwined, trembling fingers. He thought hard of how to say it. The image was still so vivid in his mind.

He answered, "she's in shock. She isn't possessed, but she won't respond to anyone's call and no one can go near her...the shadows are making sure of that." Mr. Beans couldn't say that several doctors and Hunters have already died, and the most shocking part was that those shadows somehow evolved. They were now eating the remains, leaving nothing behind. Remembering it made his face turn even more green.

Cheadle Yorkshire watched the exchange with a huge question mark floating above her head. But from what she gathered, the possessed child is getting out of control.

The Dog Zodiac cleared her throat and two anxious pair of eyes turned to her at full attention. She said, "chairman, I know she just came here last week, but the sacrifices are already too high. She has to go."

'It is time to get rid of her.' Cheadle meant, but the chairman shook his head defiantly. He said angrily, "the child just turned fifteen, Cheadle. I know lives have been lost, but if she is able to-"

Cheadle cut him off, "are you basing this on an 'if'?" She closed her eyes with a sigh. "How many more Hunters or employees is it going to take before you will think this through, chairman? And how can you be so sure that she will be able to control those demons leeching on her? It is time, Chairman Netero, before it is too late." Cheadle's last sentence weighed heavily in the chairman's chest and he sank back into his seat. He knew that she was right, but he couldn't...the child suffered far too much. He let Maria depend on him to help her and now, he has to kill her? He couldn't. He absolutely couldn't. Somehow, Maria Jayson became someone he grew to care for.

Mr. Beans watched, his heart heavy and his mind troubled. Yet there was no other choice in the matter, even he knew what was the right thing to do.

Maria had to go.

Such was established that day once Chairman Netero finally gave a hesitating nod.

All Hunters within the building then made their way to the infirmary where Maria was held.

"Kill her immediately" was the order. They were told not to underestimate the child's strength and have no hesitation when faced to kill her. Nothing else more.

They just had to make sure her heart stopped beating.

"Finally, the chairman came to his senses..."

"I won't forgive that brat. Possessed or not, she killed my brother."

"She is no helpless child like the chairman implied. She is a demon who kills people without prejudice."

Maria sobbed as angry, malicious words echoed loudly in her mind. The shadows had to be lying. They had to be. But those voices in her head weren't the shadows...they were human, familiar voices. She was just starting to trust those Hunters, if only a little. They said they'd help her. They said they would.

The temperature in the room dropped down to the lowest Celsius degree as her feelings haywired. Maria couldn't feel the cold though...she only felt her heart breaking to pieces.

" ** _They'll kill you. You have to get out of here._** " The terrifying voice whispered in her mind.

Maria mumbled in response, "Why do you even want me alive...? I thought it'd be better if I was dead, no? You can find a suitable vessel who won't fight back... So why me? Why choose me out of all the other people in the world?"

Without skipping a beat, the terrifying voice explained, " _ **you are different. No matter how much you harden your heart, you still care. You have to live, you are the perfect one. The perfect vessel. We bluffed the chairman that if they kill you, specifically your body, that we would be set free and everyone will be a vessel. But that isn't so.**_ "

Maria's eyes widenened. The screws in her head started whirring at its explanation, but she needed more information to prove the theory she came up with. She asked, "what do you mean?"

The voice answered, " ** _Escape out of here first then I will answer all of your questions._** " Maria has to be insane if she's going to listen to the voice in her head who tormented her for years and years. They never listened to her. Why now when her life is in danger?

But her body was moving on its own. She swung her legs off the bed and jumped towards the only window, but it was boarded up with stain metal to stop her...if she ever went out of control from escaping. Her fist punched the metal, but it only clanged in response, not even leaving a dent.

" ** _Let us take care of this. Close your eyes and surrender your body. We will-_** "

"No!" Yelled Maria as she continued to barrel the metal board with her fists. She won't let them take over. Not again, not ever. She will fight with her own power. She doesn't want anyone to die anymore. She doesn't want to be blamed.

Loud, thundering steps sounded outside the infirmary door and the voice hissed, " ** _Stop fighting! There is no time! You have to-_** "

Maria blocked out the voice's words by banging her head on the board. Her fists hurt and her head ached. But she won't let them. She won't surrender. She needed to keep fighting. She will. She had to.

"Ms. Maria, w-we are coming in." Mr. Beans' voice said outside the infirmary door. The window and the door were 30 meters away, but Maria heard his voice clearly. Maria shook her head.

"Why?! I was starting to trust you! How could you do this?!" Maria yelled as pained tears rolled down her cheeks. On that same day, her first friend was actually that monster's associate and the people who are supposed to help her are going to kill her. How amazing fate was to her right now and what dumb luck she had.

"Maria Jayson, surrender at will and there will be no trouble." A sense of deja vu waved past her, but her teetering mind wasn't able to process why the voice sounded so familiar.

The darkness was closing in on her again and she was finding it hard to breathe. The air in the room seemed to thin out. She punched the board again out of anger and frustration. Tears and black tentacles clouded her sight, but she had to keep fighting. She needed to live so the terrifying voice can answer her questions. Questions she's been dying to know since she found out about her curse.

"Maria, we are coming in. In three..."

When all hope seems lost, Maria felt slender, yet rough fingers wrap around her wrists. The touch sent electrifying chills up her arms and her eyes snapped up to meet her captor.

Silver met dark brown.

"You-!" She hissed, the shadows slithering into her vision. She felt angered, betrayed, scared...but worst of all, the most hated feeling that was pounding in her heart, was...

She refused to think of the word. She didn't want to.

"Maria..." His grip tightened as he whispered. Why is his voice making her feel so calm and those butterflies fluttering in her stomach? She should be angry, but...but...but...

"Two..." She couldn't trust him after not telling her. That man must have sent him to kill her...is that why he shot his hand the night before? Not to stop her from leaving, but to slice her head off? She believed the theory to be true, but his eyes, which were still locked with hers, said otherwise.

"Please let me go..." Feitan's heart twisted in anguish at her words. He understood why she said it, but he couldn't obey her words. He won't afford losing her again.

_I'm sorry, boss, but just this once... I must break the rule._

"...go with me. I will explain everything..." Maria wanted to look away, but his gaze held so much determination, fearlessness, and the word she didn't want to think.

" ** _NO, DON'T GO WITH HIM! HE'LL BETRAY YOU! BETRAY! BETRAY! BETRAY! AGAIN! YOU CANNOT TRUST HIM! HE WILL KILL YOU!_** " The terrifying voice screamed in her head. At its words, Maria tried to pull her wrists away. Feitan kept hold on her though.

"Maria, trust me. I will help you." He pulled her close to him and Maria gasped when their noses almost touched. She didn't notice, but his clothes changed from the night before. The robe was replaced with a dark purple jacket and a familiar, dark red scarf was wrapped around his neck. Memories from her childhood fluttered into her mind.

" ** _Don't listen, foolish girl! He will betray you! He will kill you! He will-_** " The terrifying voice vanished from her thoughts and the darkness cleared away when his lips touched hers. It was a brief moment, but her mind blanked as her face burst into a wonderful color of rosy red.

"...one." There was no time.

Once Feitan pulled away, Maria exclaimed, "Wha-?!"

"Trust me." Feitan cut her off. His eyes held desperation and the soft tingling of another human touch lingered on her lips. She didn't know who or what to believe in, but...

Finally, she nodded.

"Fire!" A Police Hunter exclaimed and the rapid firing of Nen barrelled down the infirmary door.

Mr. Beans let the tears roll down his cheeks as the Hunters barged into the room. Guilt pooled in his stomach. _This was the right thing to do...for the sake of everyone else._ He thought while sniffing. Cheadle stood beside him, but unlike him, there were no tears and her heart held no guilt. She knew that the girl had to die and she had a sense of responsibility for those in the Building.

After all, Maria was just one person compared to the death of so many. To Cheadle, the possessed girl was a danger to everyone in the world. Her being dead would save others who were going to die in her hands.

"Ms. Yorkshire, please come in!" The Dog Zodiac's thoughts were disrupted at a Hunter's frantic shout from within the smoking room. She frowned, felt the confused stare of the short, green man, and made her way inside. Her jaw slacked and her eyes widened at the boarded window. It was sliced open diagonally and cleanly. The other half of the metal was not inside the room and there was no sign of Maria. A breeze blew inside the room and Cheadle yelled,

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

XxX

#6 frowned as he watched the news broadcast. The room he was in was someone else's...their limp and pale body fallen on the brown carpeted floor.

"#6, what is wrong?" The Man asked as he entered. His clothes changed to one of casualty: a black shirt tucked into his blue jeans and black combat boots. A black bandana covered the Man's forehead.

#6 jumped at the sight of the Man. He answered in surprise, "ah, boss! The news just reported that the girl we're searching for escaped the Hunter Association Building. #10 and #12 should be looking for her now though." The Man nodded as his eyes drifted the flat screen. Maria's smiling face appeared on the upper right corner and red, capital letters 'WARNING' were placed below her face. The Man stared blankly at the girl's empty eyes.

"Prepare necessary procedures for us to depart for Swaldini City tomorrow morning. We have to get there quickly before she is gone." He ordered, in which #6 immediately went for the previous owner's laptop.

"Of course, boss!" He delightfully said as his fingers began to do the work.

The Man left the room and saw the Woman leaning down the hall. Her piercing eyes met his in a worried glance. He smiled and greeted, "#9, what did you want to see me for?"

The Woman known as #9 immediately replied, "#10 just contacted me that he and #12 are in Swaldini as of now..." She trailed, which made the Man's smile twitch.

"What else, #9?"

The Woman sighed, "it's nothing, boss. I was just worried." The Man's smile disappeared.

"About what?"

"Your...past attachments." The Man's smile returned while letting out a soft chuckle.

"No need to worry, #9. I assure you that the Spider is everything to me. Our group is much more important to me than blood."

 

 

 


End file.
